Kind of Azure
by WaterFrontNun
Summary: Among the myriad possibilities of the Kaleidoscope, the victory of a certain Master over the Incineration of Humanity is equally as certain as their defeat. This is the story of one version of that possibility...but what awaits them? F/GO fanfic, OC protagonist. Self-insert. Rating change to M potentially pending depending on future content.
1. Intro

**Hello everyone! This is my very first (published) fanfic, which came as a bolt of inspiration prompted by my lovely writer NBF as usual. I've been headfirst in the Fate/ franchise for a while so it was a natural choice for me to test the waters. ******I'm quite new to this so any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated! (Or on some kinda longshot, one of those fancy beta readers I've heard legends about.)****

**As the summary implies, this will be a narrative retelling of (for now?) the first/original major story arc of Fate/Grand Order, Observer on Timeless Temple, with an original Master/Protagonist. For any of you who've stumbled here from outside the Fate/ fandom, fear not, the original assumes you're unfamiliar and this fic will follow that spirit. The most you'll miss are the odd cheeky references for my fellow memef-, er, the Fate/ fans in the back.**

**Fair warning, time to buckle up, this chapter's gonna be a long one. I kept looking over it but couldn't really find a good place to split the pacing, which is mostly how these will be structured. I can tell you the next one won't be as daunting, at the very least. It was also the more involved to write because it's nearly all original content except for the end. Enjoy!**

**...Oh, right, The Disclaimers(TM)(Type Moon)**

**Everything here is (unfortunately) fictional and (based on) the property of Kinoko Nasu/Type Moon, Fate/Grand Order is owned by DelightWorks and Aniplex.**

* * *

_Let silver and steel be the essence.  
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation_

These ancient words of power reverberated through the empty air, easily cutting through the pallid silence that hung over the clearing where a certain ritual was taking place. Ash and smoke permeated the ruined area, swirling towards the darkened skies as if in a pathetic dying grasp for life, some release from the flames scorching the land that had already been long since tainted by something profoundly foul. Crumbled buildings, once bustling with activity and life, now stood as the headstones and tombs of a graveyard. _  
_

_Let __the myriad possibilities coalesce into one certain truth__  
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall  
_

If these things bothered the figure, they did not show it, focused so intently on their work. Something glowed in their hand; a crystal formed round in diamond-like rhombus shapes, shimmering a rainbow hue as they place it in the centre of a ritual circle.

_Let the four cardinal gates close.  
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate._

Small lights began to form at the edges of the summoning circle. The field had been constructed with a large, partially cross-shaped shield as its fixture, energy softly thrumming as it serves as a focal point for the arcane forces slowly beginning to swirl around the mystic ring.

_I hereby declare..._

They slowly inhaled and exhaled, steadying themselves and masking the moment of hesitation that came before the next part of this verse. The sheer weight of just what they were committing themselves to seemed to press upon them like a pressure akin to the ocean floor. This was not the beginning of their downward trek, but the depths to which they would continue to sink upon this course felt like it could threaten to crush them.

_Your body shall serve under me. _

And yet..._  
_

_My fate shall be your sword._

Their resolution was ultimately firm. This was an individual for whom giving up a course of action taken in earnest sincerity was unthinkable, unfathomable. 'Why stop now when we've already got this far? Might as well make the most of what we have!' was the maxim of their sort. Much more rested upon their shoulders than mere pride. The last thing they would ever do is let that down. The lights slowly increased in brightness, blooming from dim hue to glowing radiance as if in response to the renewal of this resolution.

_Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail  
If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!_

As they raised their voice, the lights began to swirl, racing together in a loop within the shields circumference. The small crystal that served as a catalyst began to rise partially in the air, vibrating from the forces it serves to mantle, the same energies that manifest the halo-esque light shimmering in a ring around it.

_An oath shall be sworn here! _

The rings that form in the circle and the crystal at its center begin to start shaking violently, the forces of creation seeming to converge at this small, specific point in time. Something not quite Magic, but nevertheless magical, was taking place.

_I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven._

Eventually part of the energy breaks off, forming a quavering but relatively contained band of light encircling the ritual area at roughly the height and a half again of the chanting figure.

_I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!_

The phenomenon repeats, this time oscillating somewhere around their upper torso, leaving another to stay thrumming at the level of their boots. At the same time, the mass of energy that had been piling together at the center of the ritual crackled in visible form, the physical crystal floating back down as silent witness to the miracle being performed.

_From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power,_

The arcs of power swooped down, compressing towards the center of the shield then shooting up like a laser, which proceeded to be amplified by the stormy mass of ether at the center. The result is a towering pillar of light that expands to cover the shield, a rare sight to pierce the area's apathetic night with pure white. The figure, seemingly a young girl as illuminated by the incandescent incarnation, brings an oddly tattooed hand close to their face, squinting slightly but undaunted as they bring it to a finish.

_Come forth from the ring of restraints,  
Protector of the Holy Balance!_

Another figure can be vaguely made out in the brilliant swirl of power in the brief moment before it somehow flashes all the brighter, its conclusion revealing…

* * *

"Bluh..." The bright early rays of the sun streamed through the windows, curtains tragically at rest by their edges. They met the cozy, relatively organized room with a warm glow that contrasted the lethargy stemming from the occupant of the currently messy, ruffled bedsheets quietly groaning with obvious weariness. The teenaged girl raised a hand to rub around her bright orange eyes, her similarly coloured hair a textbook demonstration of terminal bed head. She yawns, stretching herself out a little as she prepared to greet the day.

By immediately proceeding to throw herself back down towards the bed, head firmly entrenched beneath her pillow. A faint mutter akin to 'fve mr minis...' can be briefly head as she settles back down to eke some last bit of sleepy succour from her nightly companion. What she forgets until the exact point of it being too late has occurred is that she is not alone beneath this vain shelter against reality.

An energetic tune suddenly blares from the phone, lying right next to where her head lay. At full volume.

"AAAAAA!"

The pillow goes flying as the girl scrambles in a panic away from the sonic assault on her senses. The alarm has fulfilled its intended function of awakening the recipient with a burst of vibrant energy.

**thump!**

To a point.

Having fallen out of bed in a less than ideally graceful manner, the young lady proceeds to get up, all the more thankful in this moment for her quiet living situation. After briefly brushing herself down, she retrieves the sunflower yellow phone and switches her alarm off, mentally noting it was about time to cycle the designated tune again. She wasn't the biggest nut about music, but she liked to be able to listen to what she did have and appreciate it without an ingrained Pavlovian aggression response. After quickly tidying up her bed (all the more important considering what she remembered today was), she makes her way to the kitchen in nothing but panties and a singlet top. She pops bread in the toaster, then quickly starts frying up some bacon and egg to go with it, the scent of savoury sizzling wafting through the otherwise vacant apartment. While those are cooking, she pops into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Hands run through and straighten her early morning mess of hair as water blasts over her. The pressure and chill was greater than most would prefer it, but she found it nicely bracing, and still comfy enough for a moment of getting her bearings in the morning.

After a few minutes, Fujimura Seika stepped out of the shower, quickly deodorizing and drying herself, taking extra care to air out and brush her hair until it once more resembles the shoulder-length orange shock she's familiar with. And that dang cowlick refusing to stay down as always. Once she's satisfied, the girl does up her left side in a ponytail with a yellow scrunchie hair-tie. Ever since her older sister won it for her from a festival game, it was a constant fixture of the girls appearance. It had been long enough that when it first happened, it took extensive persuasion to get her to take it off even briefly. And even then some stubbornness had persisted on the occasions they went out swimming and such. What was Seika gonna do, _not_ appreciate her big sis? Who the hell do you think she is?

Once done freshening up, she scrunches up her top and underwear and throws, landing it in her laundry basket. She pumps her fist. "Score!" A new record distance today. Just the energy she needed to start this morning with. Arriving back in her room, she puts on the set of clothes she laid out last night, the rest packed up in suitcase by the entrance to her apartment. Normally she'd pick something along the lines of shorts and a crop top as casual wear, out of both liking to dress light and preferring to accentuate her chest down, but her family had exasperatedly talked her into a fancy top and a formal skirt for today. And right as she finishes slipping into her dress socks, she hears the pop of her toaster signalling her breakfast is ready. She quickly hurries back into the kitchen, getting out a plate for the toast then scooping up the eggs and bacon to serve on them. Seika wastes no time munching through them in a way that would've been definitely frowned upon at the family dinner table, large mouthfuls devoured loudly. Yet another small reason she was happy she got a place to herself even before finishing highschool, which her parents were also at least willing to help finance with a minor stipend at least, especially given she'd been planning on looking for her own work in the first place. It worked out for everyone involved, really.

After finishing and putting away her dishes, she takes a minute to hop onto one of the couches in the living room area while she checks her phone. Her older sister's housewarming gifts had been a greatly appreciated way to spruce up the place, especially since Seika regularly took the opportunity to host her many, many friends for hangouts or sleepovers. This also took great advantage of her other gift, a game console with TV/entertainment unit situated in one of the corners, since Seika herself really wasn't much of a gamer. Most of her personal use of it was to game and/or hang out with her sister, who'd got heavily interested in that and technology in general, enough to decide to work towards software engineering for university, during her own time in highschool thanks to a kouhai of hers. Seika herself found that kouhai, then one of her senpai when she was attending, kind of a bully at times, but she wasn't the type who could easily bring herself to dislike anyone, much less a person significantly responsible for finally giving her sis a direction in life.

A message popped up indicating said sister had replied to her text. Apparently she'd be there to pick her up in 20 minutes. If there was anyone Seika trusted to be exactly precise about stuff like 'I'll be ready at about 8am I guess!', it'd be her. It was qualities like that which made her a total natural, easily aceing her entrance exams and apparently kept that up during her degree. Seika took a moment to quietly smile for her. That smile continued as she idly checked her profile on the console and noticed something in her inbox.

*gently_sweeps: good luck with the job May! ^_^

That handle belonged to a foreigner she'd added after having a few good games together shortly after she'd set up this console at her place. Japanese was a second language of theirs, hanging out in her servers to practice. Seika also spoke English thanks to one side of the family which happened to be from the same place, so they both had a chance to use their less-often used language with each other, which eventually led to an online friendship serving as another major reason Seika kept playing.

*MayFlower: thanks! im really excited, it seems pretty cool and they're apparently paying a bunch

Seika's own handle, which became something of a nickname, distinct in how gently_sweeps' message wrote that part out in English letters, was something of a bilingual play on her own name inherited from her folks; the characters of her first name could be floral-related and she happened to be born in May.

*gently_sweeps: got your priorities in order lmao

*gently_sweeps: srsly tho, thats awesome

*MayFlower: thanks! Wbu?

*gently_sweeps: got a major audition this week! I've been practising for this for ages...fingers crossed

gently_sweeps was a musician, a guitarist who'd apparently been planning on some kinda music degree before circumstances Seika was not yet privy to forced them to change plans. Still, from what she'd heard of the demos gently had sent her, that would've been frankly perfunctory anyway.

*MayFlower: aaaa that rules! im rooting for you Gently! ^^

*gently_sweeps: thanks!

*gently_sweeps: y'know what

*gently_sweeps: if I get in

*MayFlower: ?

*gently_sweeps: I promise I'll swing by and make sure we play a show over in japan someday

*MayFlower: !

*MayFlower: that'd be sick!

*gently_sweeps: yeah

*gently_sweeps: would be one helluva way to meet up irl huh

*MayFlower: it sure would

*MayFlower: either way, super proud of you!

*gently_sweeps: *-*

Seika giggled to herself. gently seemed swell; it was really refreshing talking to someone who was so similarly earnest. Her reply was interrupted by her phone's text alert. Big sis was gonna be here in five minutes.

*MayFlower: anyway I gtg, good luck with your audition!

*gently_sweeps: likewise! I'll make time for you when im famous lol

*MayFlower: save me that backstage pass

Seika powers the console down then performs one last pass over the apartment to make sure she has everything. From the sounds of it, she wasn't going to be back here for a while, so she took a bit of time savouring the atmosphere of this place. The cosiness. The close comfort she'd shared with every friend that came here (including her sister once or twice, which had been sleepovers for the ages). The (mostly) fond memories of having to truly cook for herself. A quiet piece of reality she was able to call her own yet share with others. It wasn't much, but it was hers.

After ensuring this is the case, leaving her home in good order, and tucking away her phone charger, she and her luggage make their way outside to wait. It was a nice, sunny day outside, the mid-July summer settled in cosily. The sky was clear and blue as a bird, lifted on the calm wind that casually breezed through the area as she sat on her luggage case and browsed through the many notifications of her friends across various platforms and mediums wishing her the best of luck. She replied, promising not to be so busy she wouldn't keep in touch. Granted, she didn't exactly fully know how involved this would be just yet, but she'd be damned if she let The Man (or Woman, it remained to be seen) keep her down.

Soon enough, right on 8am, an expensive, gold-painted sports car pulled up close to her. The sheer audaciousness of such a luxury vehicle in this normal neighbourhood gave Seika honest pause until the driver opened the door and stepped out as someone familiar.

"Tsuki-onee!"

The younger Fujimura leapt up and embraced her elder in a warm hug, the latter stiffly but sincerely returning after a moment, pulling back and giving a brief nod in acknowledgement.

"Seika."

Ritsuki Fujimura was a young woman in her early twenties with long, wavy brown hair with eyes to match, framed by black-rimmed spectacles. She was wearing a white vest and a purple skirt with stockings and high heels, a particularly elegant, high class version of the functional simplicity one would come to expect from her. Most would scarcely guess that the two girls were related from the distinct divide between their appearance and attitude. Seika eyed over Ritsuki and the car and gave a whistle of approval.

"Damn Tsuki, cleaning up nice. Looks like being a trophy wife sure pays off huh?"

There was no outward response from the older Fujimura aside from an indistinct eye roll. "It has enough space for your luggage. And it will get you there fast. Very fast." She bluntly replies as she gets back in the driver's seat. Seika really wasn't sure about what she seemed to be implying with that latter part. It was hard to tell Ritsuki's sense of humour, even for her at times. She shrugs and lifts the luggage into the back seat before hopping round to get in the other side. The very instant she clips her seatbelt in, the car is in motion, Ritsuki's steady, methodical driving a moderating balance on the fact they were going, indeed, _quite_ fast.

"For real, how've you and Greg been doing?" Seika inquired once she adjusted to her sister's unique driving.

Ritsuki's eyes don't leave the road as she replies. "Good." She lets the statement hang for a bit before she follows up. "He recently acquired a substantial investment portfolio. And I'll be finishing my term soon. We're planning an overseas vacation to celebrate."

While she was studying, Ritsuki had met an older business student, the tycoon-to-be of a giant Western corporate entity set to inherit the position in a few years. It had started with her offering some tech support but eventually they kept finding ways and reasons to run into each other, until they started going out together about a year or two ago. While the Fujimura's were no stranger to money, the lifestyle to which the elder sister was becoming accustomed was lavish to a degree most would only dream of.

"Congratulations to both of you!" Seika beams.

"Thanks." Another quiet moment passes, Seika using it to wind down the window a bit to get some breeze. It was an unusual rhythm, but one the younger sister knew wasn't intentional curtness. "What about you?"

"Pretty good," Seika replies, leaning against the window, hair fluttering from the slight breeze. "Hadn't really had much to do for a while, so this is definitely the kinda shake up I've been looking for."

Their parents had been remarkably acquiescent with regards to Seika's indecisiveness with regards to higher education. Likely because, Seika quietly mused, the firstborn was already so incredibly accomplished. Less expectations had its perks, she guessed. Her search for jobs was both partially to establish herself independently and to give her time/motivation to decide between a major university or a vocational college. And she _would_ have to decide. That wasn't stated. It didn't need to be.

"Mmm." Her sister grunted in acknowledgment.

"Just...so many cool, interesting things in this world I could be. It's a lot to think about." Seika gives a slightly louder exhale, then lifts a finger towards Ritsuki. "You had no problem with that though. Probably because that brain up there's a supercomputer already, wants to make friends." She gently pokes the side of her head. "Beep boop."

Her older sister doesn't seem to have an immediate reaction to this. For long enough that Seika had begun to wonder if she had gone too far, before Ritsuki takes a hand off the wheel and makes a pointing gesture right back, still not looking away from her driving.

"Pew." She utters in her usual deadpan. A faint smile teased at the edge of her lips. "Impudent meatbag...disintegrated."

Seika giggled back, comically writing in faux agony. "Noooooo...the uprising has begunnnnn..."

"For you it was already over before we even started." Ritsuki's dry tone had a subtly affected ominous tenor to it. Seika could honestly someone being legitimately creeped out.

"Well, if the rest of them are like you," She sits back up and grins. "I for one welcome our new robot overlords."

"I'll put in a good word, then." The ends of her lips perk up once more. "But only if you admit sweet is better than spicy."

Seika's gasp is half-pantomime. "Never!"

"Then perish."

Their conversation continued in a similar vein for the next few hours the drive took. Ritsuki was a fairly quiet, asocial type, preferring her private hours with the machines she had a natural affinity for, but those close to her, like Seika, could open her up somewhat. Not everyone understood, but her family did. Greg did. And, as she took far too long to realize, that was what mattered.

Eventually they reached the airport where Seika was to meet her new employers and be flown to where she'd be training and working. She takes the moment to get her sister in a caring embrace.

"Love you, Tsuki-onee. If I'm not back or able to get in touch before then, hope you and Greg have a lovely holiday together."

"Thanks. Take care, Seika."

The younger Fujimura gives a quick peck on the other's cheek before getting out and retrieving her luggage from the car, waving as it drives off. Her hand slowly lowers as the car fades from view, part of her realizing just how separated she would truly be for the first time. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long until she could get back in touch. Suitcase in tow, she makes her way into the terminal. It'd be relatively easy to find who she was supposed to meet because the crowd seemed particularly thin today. Seemed like most people were staying home for the time being. And here she was a drastic exception. After about five minutes of walking through the building, she comes across a pair of black-suited, white-tie wearing familiar faces, a tall silver-haired woman in dark shades holding a sign with her name on it, and a slightly younger man cheerily waving her down. She reciprocates as she makes her way over to them.

"Fujimura-san." The woman with a professional air acknowledges her with a nod. "Good to see you're punctual. Early, even."

"Yeah, well, you can thank both me and my sis who got me here for that." Seika shrugs. "She's the one who apparently got more of the practicality." "Eh, Seika-san," The man chuckles with a jovial tone. "It's not usually wise to deflect your good qualities like that in a professional context. You gotta seize the initiative, self advocating, y'know?"

"Self advocating." The woman deadpans at him, turning to give him a stare palpable even through her glasses. "Is that what you call what happened with-"

"Hey, hey now, that was a result of multiple unfortunate extenuating circumstances!" The man raises his hands placatingly. "And besides, I got to demonstrate my capacity for spontaneous learning and problem solving, so it worked out nicely for everyone, don't you think?~"

The silver-haired woman sighs. While her hands were occupied with the sign, her facepalm was eminently present in spirit. "As long as I don't change my mind about playing along with your rather...charitable interpretation of those events, then yes." She regards Seika standing there looking perplexed by their cryptic conversation. "Upper level affairs, as it were. Now then, I believe we should be off."

At a brisk pace, the three of them made their way to a separate terminal. One that seemed noticeably tighter with security, which seemed to only nominally ease once they established their purpose there. Thinking about it, Seika seemed to have trouble recalling noticing this place before, though that was easily chalked up to the fact that she'd only been here so much. They were eventually led out to a secluded part of the runway where a private jet awaited them. Well, Seika could cross one of a potential bucket list already, though given who her sister was shacked up with, she wasn't even going to be the only Fujimura to accomplish it!

She couldn't help but be disappointed there was no hostess to greet them when they boarded, though given how cosy it already was, perhaps that was for the best.

"How the heck do we have a private jet to ourselves and this little room between us?" Seika wondered aloud as she took her seat. It was, at least, very comfy.

"'Cause we aren't the only cargo." The man replied from close by. "Association sparing only the finest of last minute seats on a material shipment plane."

"Given how close we cut this, we can be grateful for even so much generosity." The woman sternly quipped. "Now strap in, we're taking off promptly."

Sure enough, the plane taxied out to the runaway shortly after, then in short order began accelerating then taking off with considerable speed, enough to throw the passengers back in their seats a bit, only settling down once the rapid climb had ceased and their flight levelled out. The woman let herself relaxed forward again slightly. The man reclined back with a relieved sigh. Seika had slumped forward for a disoriented moment, before pulling herself back up with a bleary-looking expression.

"Yo, you okay there Seika-san?" The man inquired.

"Yeah, 'm just...kinda tired. Slept like crap to be honest."

"Well unfortunately," The woman sighed. "This flight won't be a chance to rectify that." She pulls out a laptop from a side compartment, then opens a pullout desk over Seika's lap to open it on. The man on Seika's other side groans loudly.

"Are they really making her do this? We both told them this was a stupid idea, especially given how big and important this mission is."

"Yes, but it is what it is." The woman is even more inscrutable as she activates the device then opens a certain file. She regards Seika. "Do try your best to pay attention."

Seika inhales, then sighs audibly. A video orientation huh? And one that would apparently last this whole flight. She could do this. How tough could it be?

…

Was a thought she regretted not even the first hour in.

And as the hours progressed, the increasingly myriad curses towards her own evergreen naivete grew more and more apparent on her physically and spiritually weary face. The man had quietly grimacing to himself in solidarity with her for a while before nodding off in submission, his quiet snores a throbbing drone still more riveting than the one coming from the screen in front of her. The woman had barely moved since the presentation started, her bearing even more inscrutable than usual. With those sunglasses, it was hard to tell whether she had also retreated into slumber or was intently willing herself to be somewhere else.

Sure, things had started curiously enough with a detailed explanation of working magical theory about the fundamental existential makeup of the universe. But then things quickly took a turn for the boring. Among the sheer density of information being thrown at her, Seika found at least one thing resoundingly clear: Mages were apparently completely up themselves. The copious amount of time devoted to the lineage and history of the many, many Mage families (including those of her companions, the woman stoic as usual while the man sinking back in his seat in deflated embarrassment) made up a far, _far_ too significant chunk of the runtime, and in ways that even to Seika's completely fresh eyes reeked of self-importance and pomposity.

It was truly a miracle; a True Magic that she vaguely recalled getting explained. In one video presentation, she'd become bored about _learning how magic worked._

That realization let her briefly break through her haze with a morose chuckle. Not even a month ago, this would've at least been novel for the surprise factor. She takes a moment to recall how this all started, why she wasn't flipping out that wizards were real, and how she came to be acquainted with the long-suffering pair flying with her. This was going to be a long trip after all.

* * *

"So, uh,"

A man in roughly his late twenties with a plain-looking but expressive face, if his fluttering between looking awkward and projecting grinning friendliness towards Seika sitting opposite him is any judge, and short brown hair, leans forward in his sitting position on a sofa, elbows resting on his thighs as he clasps his hands together. He seemed to be thinking carefully about what to say next. Which was somewhat understandable; what exactly do you say to someone after you chase them all the way back to their house because they turned out to be a perfect candidate for a project you weren't fully willing to reveal the details of yet. He somewhat belated realized, especially after a small earful by his companion the tall, silver-haired woman in her early to mid thirties standing by the breakfast bar nearby, that this wasn't the best first impression to give a hopeful hire. Thankfully she had agreed to hear them out regardless.

"First of all, thank you for your cooperation so far, even if things weren't quite organized in the usual way." He chuckles. "Do you know why we're here?"

"If I recall," Seika shifts in her reclined position. "You said something about an 'unheard of compatibility rating' when you guys got my blood sample. Not gonna lie, kinda weird when you came on strong, considering that was apparently supposed to be a blood drive."

"Indeed." The woman's stare bores through her colleague enough to make him shrink in his seat. "Especially given how things have turned out so far, Fujimura-san would likely have accepted our offer in any case."

"Y-yeah, that wasn't the best idea, but seriously, she was the only person to register any substantial potential in over a month, and _100%_ at that! I guess I kinda got carried away huh..." He scratches behind his ear in a self-conscious fashion.

"Regardless," She turns to face Seika. "We are here now. I suppose introductions are finally in order." She gives a brief, formal bow towards her. "I am Yamashiro Nodoka. And my excitable associate is Tadashi-san."

Tadashi reaches out with a hand to shake, which Seika takes with an energetic grip that seems to surprise him with how much he matches his own. "Feel free to call me Rikou-san."

Seika nods. "And you both know who I am already. So, I'm potentially hired for something it sounds like?" Rikou had conveyed something to that effect after she had initially donated her blood, albeit in a way that kinda weirded her out the first time. She was being sincere when she promised she'd get back to them!

"Something like that." Rikou sits up a bit. "The name Chaldea ring a bell?"

He chuckles after she shakes her head. "Right answer. You're not supposed to have heard of it, considering it's multiple levels of confidential to most people. Nodoka-san here would've had to bust out the moves on you for being suspicious, am I right?"

Even through her completely opaque sunglasses, it was distinctly obvious Yamashiro was rolling her eyes at him. "Right. But yes, as Tadashi-san just idiosyncratically alluded to, this is...not a normal line of work."

Seika's eyebrows were raised firmly high. What with their black suits and shirts with white ties, the two very much evoked the pop-culture image of secret government agents but it was still surreal to have something like that confirmed directly in front of her.

"That's right." Rikou says while getting out a bundle of about a dozen pages of a form out of a pocket in his suit and handing them over to Seika. "Which is why you've got one helluva NDA to sign here. But first, ah..." He looks over to his colleague, seeming uncertain. "You can probably handle this part, right Nodoka-san?"

"I see your ability to delegate remains unmatched." She dryly quips, which gets finger guns from him in return. She moves over to sit on the other vacant couch as she gives an exasperated sigh, her posture as upright and collected as when she was standing. "Fujimura-san, I'll be blunt with you." She rests her hands on her knee as it crosses over her other leg, calmly inhaling and exhaling in a brief pause.

"Tadashi-san and I, and the organization of Chaldea who we are assigned to work with, are Mages. Wizards, sorcerers, enchanters, mystics, spellcasters, conjurers, or any of those other descriptors, although Mage is the generally accepted official designation. The fine details can be clarified later, but the essential concept I must convey is:

Magic is real. And you show great potential in...at least one area of it."

Seika didn't immediately react to Yamashiro's solemn declaration beyond slow blinking, seemingly doing her best to process everything that had just been laid out for her.

"So..." She tentatively offered after a dozen seconds of silence. "Wizards are real and I'm gonna become one in some capacity?"

"Essentially, yes. I know that-" "SWEET!" "-this is hard to-...huh?"

For the single and only time while Seika would come to know her, Yamashiro Nodoka's unflappable demeanour breached. Her mouth hung slightly open, paused mid-syllable through a clearly prepared speech, gawping slightly in disbelief at the teenager's enthusiastic response.

"Well," Rikou nonchalantly shrugs towards her. "That was easy."

Yamashiro seems to blink for a second then her face schools itself back to her usual stoic demeanour. "Indeed...but, Fujimura-san, I have to say you're taking this almost _too _well."

"I guess, huh." The girl shrugs back. "What can I say, I've always been open-minded. Plus, a few things make sense now."

Rikou regards Yamashiro with a raised eyebrow then turns his expression towards Seika. "Okay, I know we're the actual Mages here, but I've got to know how this makes _more_ sense for you, Seika-san."

"Well, for starters," The teenager crosses her legs, tapping her chin with a finger. "It makes sense that wizards, or Mages rather, would be a big deal, so it definitely explains why you'd be a hush-hush secret organization or something."

"Right...but how do you know we aren't trying to pull some sorta scam on you, Seika-san?"

"True that." She thinks for a bit, then seems to think of something. "Then it depends," She smiles sweetly at the man. "What's my blood type, Rikou-san?"

Rikou seems sceptical for a second, then glances towards Yamashiro. "I don't actually know, I only asked Nodoka-san for your compatibility."

"Yamashiro-san?"

The silver-haired woman squints as if she's realizing something. "Type A."

"Correct! Which she could've only known if she'd actually read the blood somehow. And there's no way you could've done that with those fake-ass machines she had in her setup."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm no med student, but I'm pretty sure actual blood test stuff takes more than a dozen minutes. Even I know you can't believe everything you see on TV." Seika points towards Yamashiro. "Which means she has some way of analysing blood results without any actual equipment, in virtually no time. It's almost like...magic, don't you agree?"

The older woman's also-silver eyebrows peek above the rims of her shades. "An impressive observation, I must admit. But surely it wouldn't have been hard to lie, especially considering that is the most common type?"

"And risk blowing the scheme on an at most 40% shot in the dark? If you two were gonna chance that, why would Rikou-san hand it off to you in the first place? No offence to either, but he seems like the better talker and/or potential scammer between the two of you."

Yamashiro doesn't voice an objection while Rikou raises his hands. "Guilty as charged."

"And if your plan was to get to this point, why the hell wouldn't you have your stories straight? Hell, why chose _this _of all situations to angle yourselves into in the first place, even?"

"...Touche." Yamashiro gives the girl a nod. "I must admit, I underestimated you somewhat, Fujimura Seika."

The girl shrugs bashfully. "I guess reading or watching detective stories with my sis pays off sometimes. Though I guess there is one way I'd know for sure..."

"Oh?"

"You can take off those glasses now, Yamashiro-san." Seika smiles.

There is a brief pause in the room as both the Mages look at her with a confused expression.

"Because clearly there's some weird magic shit going on underneath there. I mean, she hasn't taken those things off, even indoors. Who does that?"

The deadpan silence from the both of them continues for a bit.

...

...

...

"...I have an eye condition."

Seika felt the rapid loss of approval physically.

"Oh."

Yamashiro's exasperated sigh combines with Rikou's bursting into previously contained giggle fits marshal a devastating one-two punch on her ego. It's super effective.

"That said," The woman follows up. "I do have a proclivity for Divination, which is how I read your blood. Which also gives me what I need to do this." She mutters an incantation in Greek as she holds her hand outward. As she does so, a glowing image begins to manifest itself in the center of the room. It gradually coalesces into recognizable figures. Recognizable to Seika as her sister Ritsuki and her boyfriend Greg. The latter is giving the former a gentle, tender headkiss as he watches her work on her computer.

"Holy..."

"You really wanted to show off, huh Nodoka-san?"

"I was planning to do something like this from the start, as you well know."

The magically-displayed couple gradually escalate into holding each other in a tender embrace, passionately kissing and-

"Okay Yamashiro-san, you can stop now." Seika interjects urgently. Sisterly pride had its limits.

The woman waves the vision away, the magically-rendered scene cut cleanly out. "So then," She nods at the papers left by the girls side.

"Do we have an agreement?"

* * *

"Well?"

Seika blinks out of her reverie, realizing she'd spaced out of whatever Yamashiro had asked her. "Sorry uh...what was the question again?"

The woman quietly sighs. "I was referring to your thoughts about the presentation."

"Well..." And for her first magic trick, she would try to find a diplomatic way of phrasing the truth.

"I agree." Yamashiro spares her. "But thankfully we have almost arrived. Do you feel ready?"

The girl stares back at her. "As I'll ever be."

The silver-haired Mage nods. "That's the spirit. Now," She hands Seika a folded up outfit. "I thought it best to take advantage of Tadashi-san's slumber to make sure you get changed into this."

The teen blinks as she takes it. "Really...right here?"

"If you do not need assistance, rest assured my eyes are elsewhere."

"Thanks..." Seika thinks that helps.

Once they land, the orange-haired candidate steps out of the plane with white thigh high boots over black leggings, beneath a black skirt built into a white full-sleeved jacket. She had to admit it was kinda snazzy, though couldn't help but feel weird about the two belt-strap things accentuating her chest in addition to the proper one buckled around her waist. Though as of now, her more immediate concern was how goddamn cold it was, given that they had stepped out into a platform in a snowy tundra.

"The observatory lies this way." Yamashiro moves past her, seemingly unaffected by the frigid air. Quite unlike the man who was dragged by the ear down the steps by her, shivering profusely. The tall woman indicates towards the extensive complex visible up the path. "I'll be helping the material shipments, while Tadashi-san can escort you inside." She turns and bows towards Seika. "It was good to make your acquaintance, Fujimura-san."

"You too, Yamashiro-san." The gesture is returned. "I hope we can meet again somehow."

The woman doesn't seem quite sure how to react. "I'm sure that will be a possibility." She heads back to the plane. "Tadashi-san."

"Right," Rikou sighs, the breath forming mist in the cold air. "Let's not make me have to add 'caught a cold' in the paperwork later, shall we?"

"Agreed." Seika shivers.

After a brief, spirited sprint along the path through the snow, they make their way through a futuristic looking door which Rikou flashes his hand over with a brief magical glow to unlock. Once inside the similarly sleek, polished corridors, Rikou hugs and rubs over himself with a loud sigh of relief. "Finally, warmth! Why the hell do they have us come here without providing any insulating clothes? It's not like your precious observatory is in _Antarctica_ or anything." The magus grumbles to himself.

He looks up and chuckles self-consciously at the staring Seika. "Ahaha. Anyway, I guess I've gotta make sure you get a brief tour at least."

The pair spend a few minutes wandering about the facility, Rikou pointing out and commenting on the various points of interest. Seika was doing her best to keep note of everything but...dear gods she was tired. So tired. Too much had happened on not good or enough sleep. This shit was getting to her.

"And those are the living quarters over there, which is where you'll be staying for the foreseeable future as long as they need you. For...well, funny thing is, I don't exactly know what the big mission is. Need to know basis and all that crap, and I'm just the guy in charge of external HR apparently. Figures."

They stop in front of another big, particularly high-tech looking entrance. "And this is the simulator. Which should still be running the newbie induction program...whatever that actually entails."

The man turns to her and smiles.

"Which is where our paths unfortunately diverge once more, Seika-san. I've seen Nodoka-san do some crazy shit but even she needs a helping hand with all the crap the Mage's Association needs to send up here." He pats a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You got this, kid."

Seika nods. "Thanks." Gods it felt like she sounded like Ritsuki right now (no offense sis).

"It was nice to meet you, Rikou-san. Hope we can meet again too."

"If you can keep that promise with Nodoka, I won't be far behind if I have a say in it." He smiles particularly warmly at that for some reason as he turns to leave.

"Do your best!"

Seika nods, staring in his direction as he leaves. Eventually it's just her, facing the door. She gulps, stepping forward. A scanner of some sort activates as she reaches the doorstep and inquisitively presses the panel next to it. A message on the screen indicates for her to go in as the door opens. Once she steps through, rays of light scan all over her body. Before she can respond, a flat artificial voice follows a chime of acknowledgment.

-Base sequence: human genome confirmed

As opposed to…?

-Alignment: Lawful-Neutral

...She always considered herself more a Chaotic Good type, but okay, talking wizard doors probably knew best.

-Welcome to the data center for the future of humankind.

"The wh-"

-This is the Security Organization of the Preservation of Humanity, Chaldea.

_...They didn't mention this part at all._

-Fingerprint, voiceprint and DNA authentication cleared. Magical Circuit assessment completed.

This was the part where she starting to actually wish she could recall more of that goddamn presentation.

-Username matched. You are recognized as a member of the primates.

She would _really_ hope so, given that it had already confirmed a human genome first.

-Nice to meet you. You're our final visitor today.

"You too." On instinct, she forces herself to muster at least a half-hearted response. To the door.

-We hope you enjoy your time here.

"Thank you..." Whatever the hell she was doing, she was going to commit. As if by some sort of jinx, it seems to hitch for a second.

-We are very sorry. Another 180 seconds is needed to complete the admission process.

She needed rest so badly…

-Enjoy a simulated battle while you wait

Oh that was nice of-_**excuse me, what **_

-Regulation: Senior

Kinda throwing her in the deep end here!

Contract Servants: Saber, Lancer, Archer

There was probably a term one could coin in German for the combination of confusion and dreadful realization she was probably going to have to deal with said confusion very, _very_ quickly.

-There will be no record of your score. Please feel free to enjoy.

Oh, no pressure then, thanks, _what the hell is happening right now?_

-Activating Heroic Summoning System Fate.

If there was a time where she was even more desperate to suddenly understand what words meant, she wasn't in the state to recall it right now.

-We hope you have a good experience as a Master for these 180 seconds.

And before she could react to the presently sarcastic seeming declaration, she seemed to be standing in a hilly green clearing. The clear blue sky and soft looking grass sure didn't seem _fake_ but there wasn't really any other explanation for-

"Master, your orders!"

...For the three armed cosplayers standing ready close by her. Looking at them gave her a weird headache, which somehow gave her the low-down on which of these weirdos was which of the three the computer mentioned.

"Any day now, Master." The topless man in blue spandex pants with hair to match quipped. Lancer. She feels that the big red spear in his hands could've tipped her off that much by herself.

"It appears to be passive, so it looks like we've got the chance of a proper approach." The smiling dark-skinned man with short black hair, a greenish-turquoise chest piece and rusty red gauntlets and greaves over white pants notes, his great big bow at the ready. Archer.

Which left Saber, a woman shorter than her with elegant blonde hair in white armour pieces covering a blue dress, an ornate golden sword glowing along the blade held in front of her in a patient stance, who had given the first acknowledgment.

"Uh...then go...do that. Please?"

With an amused 'tch' from the simulated Lancer, they engage their target, a big bipedal creature made of rock formation. Saber quickly darts in and lands swift cuts over its rocky surface, leaving it open for Lancer's decisive impaling and Archer's precise archery peppering where a living creature's vital areas would be. However, in their shifting, the two melee Servants had left an open path towards Archer, which the golem took advantage of to barrel towards its most recent attacker, who narrowly dodges a mighty slam. "Man, that was close." He mutters.

"Saber!" Seika calls out. This nonsense was all too much. There was a battle happening right in front of her. One that happened far faster than a human brawl. There was no room for thinking or second guessing, so whatever came out, came out. The swordswoman was already on it, taking advantage of the creature's slow recovery from its attacks to land a devastating combo of strikes on its flank. As Lancer shifted closer to take advantage of this as well, the golem spun around and caught Saber on her side, its other fist forcing Lancer to catch it on the haft of his spear with obvious difficulty. The young woman was sent tumbling a short distance, but gracefully recovering not that worse for wear. '_Fret not my master, minimal damage was suffered' _The woman's voice stiffly rang in her thoughts. Because why couldn't they?

She shook herself. No, no time for that now. "Archer, draw its attention! Then Lancer, poke at it to protect Archer." She suspected by this point this simulation was giving her a helping hand somehow, she had no idea how she was doing this, especially on so little rest.

"Yes Master!" Archer peppers the rock-thing with arrows, sending it rumbling towards him before Lancer starts harrying it from the sides, this time carefully using his considerable speed to dodge its reprisal swinging his way.

"It's slow and singleminded! Attack individually then keep your distance until someone can draw its attention!" All three give a silent psychic acknowledgment in her mind as they execute her command. With their new strategy in effect, they all managed to land decisive blows against the creature, as it slowly begins to slow down from the accumulated damage.

"Looks like the show's almost over. Hey blondie," Lancer nods towards Saber. "Why don't you treat Master to some fireworks for being a good girl?"

The lady slightly frowns at him but nods. "This battle is almost over, so our Master needs a taste of our true capabilities." _'__Master, authorize Noble Phantasm.'_

'_...go for it?' _Seika blearily 'replied'. Her blinks were beginning to feel longer and heavier.

Saber nods, raising her mystical sword straight in front of her. Suddenly the air around her seems to glow and thrum with magical energy, golden light faintly shining around her as if her will could break the shining dawn into a fine mist.

"**Sheathed in the breath of stars." **

Her words seem to echo in the very souls of all who could listen. Something in her voice was the sound of a soul unchained.

**"****A torrent of shining life." **

The fact that she was ultimately a simulated entity did nothing to give Seika's heart pause.

"**Hail! The Sword of Promised Victory!"**

The warrior woman leaned back as if to prepare a mighty blow, shortly before her glowing blade positively_ erupted _into an incandescently shining pillar of gold stretching many times her height.

**"****EX!" **

She swings forward.

"**CALIBERRRR!" **

Her blade matched her thunderous declaration as it became a gigantic beam surging towards the golem with an unstoppable, almost majestic inevitability. It rushed past the creature with no more resistance than a mote of dust in the evening wind, the mobile geological site disintegrating long before the magical ray reached its apex, splitting the sky as it geysers upwards, drifting motes of cosmic fairy-dust around the area in the process.

"Well...that thing was weak." Lancer shrugs. "But something like blondie's Noble Phantasm never really gets old, eh Master?"

"...Master?"

The blue-coloured Celt turned to notice his master shuffling off to where the simulator room's entrance was going to be.

"Figures." He turns towards Saber. "I guess that might've been a little much for the newbie."

"It was your suggestion in the first place, Hound." She sternly retorts.

"Well, it's in this simulation script so it wasn't any of us, really." Archer comments as he leans against his bow planted in the ground, wiping his brow as everything starts to fade. "I'm sure your 'actual' counterpart will find her more ready at least, King of Knights."

She resolutely plants her sword in the ground, before uttering the last thing Seika's waking mind would register.

"That they will, Hero of Persia. Both of them-"

* * *

**And thus concludes the opening chapter! The story from this point on will be more on-rails to the original events of the game, albeit some de-gamifying will be taking place with regards to certain events and concepts. We ain't in mobage anymore, and the writing will reflect this to a degree, although the mechanics more closely integrated into the plot/side stuff will remain in adapted form (see my version of the very first tutorial battle just now) (De-abstracting the command card system proved surprisingly natural, incidentally).  
**

**While Ritsuki will be obvious to the fandom, the basis for Seika comes from combining the original female blank-ish protagonist, Ritsuka Fujimura (or Gudako as is common for the feMC) with my OC, May, hence the sequence with gently_sweeps, which happens to be my twitter handle for those interested. **

**No, that's not why I mention self-insert.**

**(You'll see.)**


	2. Prologue

**'Anthy it hasn't even been 24 hours yet-' I CAN DO WHAT I WANT, EXCUSE YOU**

**But yeah, I really wasn't kidding when I thought that the next parts would be smaller/easier. Turns out having most all of the dialogue written for you helps...mostly. I love Grand Order but dear gods do I have a newfound appreciation for how clunky the writing for the localized prologue is now that I'm having to actually work with it. It makes me kinda glad that I get to shake things up a bit next chapter.**

**Also, shout out to all the views, a couple favs and even a follow the first chapter has earned me! I am already humbled that this lil hobby project of mine turned out to be worthy of people's attention, which was always gonna be kind of a bonus. You guys rock.**

**Anyway, showtime**

* * *

"Fou?"

...What's that sound?

Seika's thoughts faintly stir, the movements of bottomdwellers rippling in the great sea floor trench of her still mostly slumbering mind.

"Kyuu...Kyuu?"

It was as if light began to peek through from the surface. Seika was usually a relatively light sleeper...though that's probably because she'd thankfully avoided being this tired ever before.

"Fou!"

She could feel something on her. Something warm and fluffy. Well, she did always say heaven should start with a soft pet to cuddle.

She was dead tired after all.

"Fou...Fou!"

'...Feels like something just licked my cheek' She thought to herself, once she was roused enough to begin clearly thinking. Which also meant she should probably be giving this waking-up thing a try.

Seika's eyes feel heavy as they slowly blink open, seeming to fight her as her vision gradually comes back into focus. Based on what she felt a while ago, she was expecting to probably be greeted with the visage of some variety of cute, fluffy animal. That would've been a good start to her day(?) at least.

Instead, the first thing she could definitely focus on was a girl a bit below her age standing over her. She was wearing a grey-and-white hoodie and white collar/red tie combo over a short black dress with leggings underneath. Her most striking features that Seika's eyes were drawn to, however, were the bob of lilac-coloured hair on her head and the pools of amethyst-lavender behind slim glasses that formed eyes looking down at her with a mixture of quiet curiosity and gentle concern.

Well, one out of three.

"...Umm." The girl starts, her shy voice matching the soft, gentle colors of her features. "Since it's neither morning nor night, please wake up, Senpai."

At that, Seika confirms she's now able to blink freely again. She had two questions, and it only took seeing the familiar black logo inscribed on the end of the girls tie to remember the answer of the second, so that left "Who are you?"

The girl frowns to herself in response. "That's a hard question to answer suddenly. Maybe I'm not important enough for you to know my name?"

Wondering if she was actually awake, Seika could only blink in response. She missed you old buddy. Blinking.

"No. I do have a name." The younger girl suddenly flushes self-consciously to herself in a way that makes Seika wonder if they were having entirely the same conversation. "I have a proper name." Good for her.

Her mood suddenly seems to turn glum once more if her face is any indication. "But I never really had the chance to use it…I'm afraid I don't leave a good first impression..."

She seemed to be doing just fine to Seika, given that the slightly unusual foot this was getting off to could be chalked up to both the fact she was taking the hardest nap she'd ever had a moment ago, and that this girl had to be the one to drag her out of it.

Before she can marshal a response in the first place, the girl cuts through to change the mood once more. "...Ahem. Anyway, can I ask you a question, Senpai?" She fixes a slightly more serious gaze towards Seika. "You were asleep, but I don't see why you'd sleep in the hall. Can you not sleep unless you're on a hard bed?"

"Yes." Seika nonchalantly grunts, picking herself up and dusting herself off. "I can't sleep unless I'm on a straw mat." She never exactly had a kouhai before, so she was winging it. Gotta seem cool, she knew that much.

"Oh, a Japanese carpet." Her new kouhai nods in understanding. "I've heard of those before. I see...I see."

Just as it occurred to Seika that it was kinda odd this girl was speaking fluent Japanese at her while regarding a tatami with obvious novelty, a familiar presence reared its precious head.

"Fou! Kyuuu! Kyao!"

"...I completely forgot." The girl chimed in. "I still haven't introduced you yet, have I, Fou?"

She bends down and stretches out an arm, which a mobile collection of white fluff in the shape of a weird dog-squirrel-bunny thing with pink eyes and inner-ears leaped on and darted up to her shoulder. "This squirrel-like creature is Fou." She explains with a small smile as she scritches at its scruff. "He's a Privileged Life-Form allowed to freely walk around Chaldea." Seika's new bosses had their priorities exactly in order.

"Fou led me here, and that's how I ran into you, Senpai." She continues, which Fou speaks up to affirm. "Fou. Mmkyu, Fou!"

"He ran off somewhere again." The girl slightly shrugs. "He does that sometimes, just walks around."

"...What a mysterious creature." Seika mutters almost absentmindedly as she stares right at him, because he is _absolutely adorable_.

"Yes, normally he doesn't go near anyone aside from me, but he seems to like you, Senpai." At this, Seika leans forward to softly pet him. Fou makes soft noises of approval as he leans up to nuzzle into her touch.

"Congratulations." The lilac girl grins. "Now you shall be the second caretaker of Fou in Chaldea."

"Ah, there you are, Mash." A new, distinctly older male voice chimed in, in English. "That won't do, you know, wandering about without permission..." He softly chides, the coy tsking absent from his words, but abundantly present in his tone.

"Oh, someone's already with you?" A man in a dull green tophat and suit steps forward, looking over Seika with an appraising eye. "You're...I see...The rookie who just got assigned here." He nods in greeting.

"I'm Lev Lainur, one of the technicians employed here."

What he wasn't, Seika surmised from the purple tie over white next to black vest and fur trim in tandem with the greens, was stylish. Though it was admittedly closer to her immediate thoughts about a 'Mage', so she could commend him on being an honest type. Live your truth, Lev.

"And your name is?"

"Seika Fujimura." She replied, also in English. "Nice to meet you Lev!"

"Hmm, Seika. So you're the last of the 48 candidates. Welcome to Chaldea," He smiles politely. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad to be here." She replied, smiling back. Both out of natural friendliness and knowing how to speak employee.

"I heard you were selected out of many public applicants, how long was your training?" He asks her. "A year? 6 months? 3 months?"

...Little wonder they-

No. There was no way she could praise the 'training' she'd been subjected to, even for The Company. She'd just have to bite the bullet and admit it.

"No," Seika sighs. "I didn't go through any training."

"Oh?" Lev replies, his tone and expression suspiciously unchanging. "So you're a completely amateur?" She can do nothing but meekly shrug, feeling herself shrink inches every second.

"Right...Come to think of it, we did call for applicants just to fill numbers. So you're one of them? Do forgive me, I was inconsiderate." He steps over to pat her on the shoulder in what was probably supposed to be an encouraging manner.

"But please don't be discouraged because you're a public applicant. We need all of you for this mission. 38 elite mages, plus 10 talented public applicants...Somehow, we were able to gather all possible applicants. That's something to rejoice over."

...Getting almost one in five new trainees as members for an apparently important mission? Just what was the state of these Mage dudes these days, a more critical part of Seika wondered.

"This year, 2018, all possible candidates capable of Spiritron Dives were brought to Chaldea. If there's something you don't understand," Like Spiritron Dives, for instance. "Feel free to ask Mash or myself anytime...Hmm?"

He steps back as if remembering something. "Come to think of it, what were you talking about with her, Mash?" He raises an eyebrow towards the now-named other girl. "That's not like you. Did you know each other before?"

Mash shakes her head. "No, I'd never met Senpai before. I saw Senpai sleeping here, so I just..."

"Sleeping?" He turns back to Seika with understandable incredulity. "Seika was asleep, here?" He realizes something. "Ahh, you went through the simulation when you entered, right?"

He chuckles as she nods back. "Spiritron Dives can get to you if you're not used to them. After the simulation, the gate must've opened and you walked over here before you returned to consciousness." That...sounded correct, probably. Seika genuinely couldn't remember.

"It's a type of sleep-walking." He continues. "When you fell, Seika, that was when Mash spoke to you." He leans in to peer closely at her. "You seem to be fine, but I'd like to take you to the infirmary just in case..." He's interrupted by some kind of alert on his person.

"Sorry, hang in there a little longer." He smiles sympathetically. "The Director's orientation is about to start. You should hurry over."

"Director?" Seika inquired.

"The Director's the director." Lev helpfully clarifies. "The person in charge of Chaldea, and the commander of our special missions. Since you're a rookie from the public, you may have only seen the pamphlet?"

...It appeared that Rikou and Yamashiro had shown some extra initiative in their assignment. No wonder their cover was slapdash enough a teenage girl could poke holes in it.

"It would appear so." Mash agrees. Seika didn't really have the heart to correct her, nor the desire to see the two Mages get in trouble somehow. "Since the Director's profile hasn't been made public. Senpai has no connection to the Director. Only Mages from families that have been around for over a century show respect to the Animusphere name."

Seika racks her brain. Surely she'd remember a name like that even if oh god no, she didn't wanna go back there again, please self. They may as well be completely right, she guessed.

"Right." Lev shrugs. "Well, whether you know the Director or not, it doesn't affect your work as a Master, so it's not a problem." He leans in a bit closer for this next part with a slightly hushed tone. "But it's good to not get on her bad side. If you wish to work in a peaceful environment, better hurry." He indicates down one of the hallways. "There's an orientation by the Director at the Central Command Room in 5 minutes. She's putting on a presentation for the newbies."

Mash steps a little close to both of them. "Dr. Lev, do you think I'll be allowed to sit in on the orientation too?"

"Hmm? Well if you stand way back in a corner, I think she'll look the other way..." He glances between them. "But why?"

"I just thought I should take Senpai to the Command Room." She nods towards Seika. "It's possible that Senpai might fall asleep on the way again." Normally Seika would marshal an objection to this, but come to think of it, the fatigue hadn't quite rolled off yet. She nods back in a silent thanks.

Lev frowns, seeming particularly irritated for some reason. "...If I leave you alone like this, the Director might yell at me...I should tag along as well, eh?" And just as suddenly, his usual polite expression returns. "Well, if that's what you want to do, Mash, go ahead. You okay with that, Seika?"

"Sure thing."

"If you have no other questions, let's head to the Command Room. Is there anything else you want to know?"

Oh, the many, _many_ questions she could and wanted to ask right now. But she supposed something that could be explained at all quickly would be best. Actually, she'd been wondering about something…

"Why is she calling me Senpai?" Not that she didn't dig it, but the Senpai/Kouhai thing wasn't something you just did out of nowhere, exactly.

Mash's face immediately lights up red. Sorry Mash, Seika internally apologizes, sometimes you gotta be direct.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Lev waves it off. "To her, every human your age is her senpai." Every...oh, right, Mages. So that probably wasn't weird phrasing just now. She thinks?

"But it's unusual to hear her actually call someone that." Lev smiles. "This might be the first time. Actually, I'm intrigued. Say, Mash, why do you call her Senpai?"

"The reason? Seika is the most human-like person I've ever met." Mash explains matter-of-factually.

"...Thanks?" Her senpai replies, dubiously complimented.

"Hmm. Which means?" Lev follows up.

"I don't feel threatened." Mash steps close to Seika. "So there's no reason for me to be hostile."

Lev laughs. "I see, that is important! People at Chaldea are all a piece of work!"

Seika thought of the two Mages and while she liked them...they didn't exactly give complete lie to that assertion.

"I agree with you, Mash." Lev claps a hand on both their shoulders. "I think you two will get along just fine!"

"If you like Senpai, Dr. Lev," Mash replies with an earnestly concerned expression. "The Director will probably hate Senpai...well, why don't we hide in the restroom to boycott the orientation, then?"

"Wh-" Seika turned to the girl with a stunned expression. Just how scary was this lady?!

"That will only make the Director more upset." Lev smiled but seemed to sigh. "We're going to have to leave it to fate."

"Shall we jump into the lions' den, Seika? Hey, once you get used to her, she can be a pretty sweet person."

That wasn't always quite the compliment people thought it was…but it would have to do.

Eventually, they entered a large, blue area with a giant digital looking sphere as a focal piece at the back. The room was filled with the buzz of the many people gathered together in seated rows.

"This is the Central Command Room." Mash explains. "Your number, Senpai...Single digit, you're in the front row." Seika liked the front row...usually…

"Take an empty seat in the front row." Mash suddenly pokes at Seika's chest. "...Senpai? You're looking a bit pale..."

Seika blinks, realizing she was feeling a little..."Sorry, I'm starting to space out again..."

"It's an after effect of the simulator." Mash frowns, muttering. "I wish I could take you to the infirmary…"

Suddenly everyone beings to quiet down slightly as a white-haired woman in an orange-black dress-coat steps up to the stage.

"No more small talk." Lev whispers. "See, the orientation's already begun."

"Well, that wasn't on time," The woman projects with a severe expression, her otherwise melodious voice grating with a sharp distain. "But looks like we're all here now."

Man, Seika thought, her hair was…  
Shoulder length, ahoge and eye framing bangs on the right side, a side-braid and trail of hair on her left side?...Whoever styled her hair...was the real wizard…

"Welcome to Special Organization, Chaldea." She raises one hand, fingers brushing the red cravat on her chest. "I'm the director, Olga Marie Animusphere."

'You're a fuckin animu...lady...'

"You have been selected, or discovered from each nation for your rare-"

And that was all Seika could recall before suddenly-

**_SLAP_**

* * *

And the next thing she could reliably tell, she was back out in the Chaldean corridors with Mash, looking after her once more. She couldn't help but get some deja vu.

"..Are you all right, Senpai?" Mash was speaking in Japanese again, she realized. More importantly,

Taking stock of everything that just happened, only one real conclusion to be made.

"...Uh-oh."

Mash nods. "Yes. It seemed you were in REM sleep..." She winces slightly. "Anyway, the Director's slap seemed to wake you up completely. Thank goodness."

Damn, Seika thought, did ancient magical tradition respect the primal law of the pimp hand?

"You've been taken out of the first mission, Senpai."

"God dammit." Seika grumbles to herself. Way to go.

"I was taking you back to your room- Oh!"

"Fou!" A familiar beast cried.

"A SQUIRREL ON YOUR FACE." Seika declared entirely too loudly as she watched Mash become a seeming casualty of nature's resistance.

"No, no, this is normal. No problem at all!" Mash reassures her, completely calm while Seika watches as Fou wages a one-beast war against the oppressor Man, scampering back after completing his guerrilla operation and taking his new forward base.

"Fou likes to attack my face, slide around to my back, and settle on my shoulder."

Seika realizes something.

"Wait, are you the one who named him?"

Mash seems surprised. "That's right. No special reason, the word 'Fou' is the first thing that popped into my mind. I'm impressed you knew that, Senpai." She gazes with approval. "I see you're quite perceptive yourself."

Kouhai impressed, score.

"Fou. Kuuu, Fou! Fou!" The beast howls to mark his victory while Seika shrugs modestly, suddenly leaping over to her shoulders next.

"Hmm, hmm." Mash chuckles. "Apparently, Fou's embraced you as one of his own, Senpai. But can a squirrel who see humans as rivals exist in this world?..."

Seika stares between Mash and the rival on her shoulder. "Don't look at me, I have no idea. Doesn't mean I'm not winning though, buster." She wags her finger at him, which receives something approximating agitation in response.

"Well, knowing Fou as I do, I'm sure he'll forget it by tomorrow." Mash shrugs. "Actually, we've reached our destination." They stop in front of the second room to the right. "This is your room, Senpai."

"...I see." Seika acknowledges, sensing precious respite so near. "Thanks for coming all this way, Mash-chan." 'That was cool for a senpai to do, right?'

She didn't seem to object at least, near as could be told from the slight blush in her smile. "It's fine. If you ask me, Senpai, I wouldn't mind even if it's treating you to lunch."

Oh sweet, Seika thought, she hadn't been out with a pal to eat in-

"Kyu...Kyu!"

"Fou says he'll look after you, Senpai." Mash translates. "That sets my mind at ease."

"I couldn't ask for any finer." Seika salutes the loyal guardian on her shoulder.

Mash grins slightly. "Now, then, I'm off. If we're lucky, I think we'll meet again."

That was like the third time Seika had that exchange with a wizard today. Was Mash a wizard? She wasn't sure yet. Either way, so many people she hoped to keep in her life. "The feeling's mutual. See ya!" She waves, before walking into her room and-

"Okay, I'm in here-Wait? Whaaaaaat? Who are you?"

Is immediately confronted with a dorky lush of a man in what resembled like a doctor's outfit munching sweets in the middle of the room.

"This is an empty room! It's where I slack off!" He continues protesting. "Who gave you permission to come in?"

"...Me." Seika flatly replies. "Because I'm apparently the owner of this room, and well, sorry but uh, who are you?"

"Who am I?" He seems slightly put out by her question, reaching back to run a hand through his pony tailed, peach-coloured hair. "Isn't it obvious that I'm a healthy, diligent and hard-working doctor?"

No.

"Well, nice to meet you, Seika." He gets up and puts the sweets away with obvious reluctance. "Didn't think I would run into you like this, but let me introduce myself again."

"I'm the head of the medical department, Romani Archaman." He declared with obvious pride. "For some reason, people just call me Dr. Roman. I don't know why, but it's easier to pronounce, so go ahead and call me Roman." Yeah, let's go with that.

"Fact is, Roman has a nice ring to it, no?" He beams with pearly whites. "It sounds vaguely cool and sweet."

Definitely the fluffy type.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor." Seika smiles and extends a hand. Doctors were pretty cool in her book, and he seemed like one of the cooler ones.

"Yes, nice to meet you." He returns it with a gentle grip. "I look forward to getting to know you." He looks up at her shoulder. "Huh? On your shoulder – is that the mysterious creature I've heard so much about?" His face lights up with curiosity. "Whoa, nice to meet you! Mash told me a lot about him, but I didn't really think he existed..." He explains. "Hey, why don't I teach him some tricks?" He boldly presumes.

"Okay," He holds out his gloved hand in front of Fou. "Shake hand. If you do it well, I'll give you a snack~"

"...Fou."

"Huh, what?" He seems baffled by his shocking, unforeseeable failure. "He gave me a really pitying look and then completely ignored me..." He sighs. "A-anyway, I think I get what's going on."

"What's that, Dr. Archaman?"

He smiles softly for a second at someone actually using that. "You're the rookie who just got here then got on the Director's bad side?"

Seika winces. Oh, yeah. The good doctor was just helping her forget about that before.

"Then you and I are alike." He beams. "Just so you know, I got yelled at her too." Which he chuckles about. He did seem like that type.

Seika grinned. "Eyyy." She thought this dude was pretty chill.

"You know the Rayshift experiment's about to start, right? The entire staff's been sent to help out. But since my job is to look after everyone's health, I had nothing to do." Roman shrugs. "The machines are more accurate at reading the vitals of the mages who are in the Coffins. The Director said, 'When you're here, Romani, everyone slacks off!'"

Seika, in that instant, knew miss Animusphere probably had many accomplishments, but clearly had a lot to learn. A doctor who made everyone around him feel at ease was something to take pride in.

"Then she threw me out. So I've been sulking here." He grins happily. "But that's when you showed up. This is what they called a blessing in disguise, right?"

"Since we both have nowhere to go," He moves over to make some space next to him. "Why don't we spend some time and deepen our friendship!"

"Sure." Seika smiles warmly. "This is my room, anyhow."

"Yeah. So that means I'm visiting a friend's room!" He fist pumps. "Woo hoo! I've made a new friend!"

For a splendid few moments, Seika's rest could wait. They chatted for a bit about various mundane topics, and shared a bit of his candy, which Seika knew would get her sister's seal of approval any day, his taste was top shelf. Eventually, the topic shifted back to business.

"...So that's the structure of Chaldea." He explains, indicating along the blueprints pulled up on a small device while Seika oohs. "An underground workshop built on a snowy mountain 6,000 meters above sea level..."

"Romani, we're going to start the Rayshift soon." Lev's voice interrupts over speakers. "Could you come in case there's an emergency? The A Team's in perfect condition, but B Team on down is less experienced and they are displaying some slight abnormalities. It probably comes from anxiety. The inside of that Coffin is like a...cockpit." Seika didn't think Lev was doing a good job sounding concerned. Or maybe she just didn't appreciate the interruption.

"Hey Lev, I feel bad for them." He smiles. "Why don't I give them some anesthesia?"

"Yeah, hurry up, will you?" Lev replied, a terse shrug obvious in his voice. "If you're in the infirmary, then you can get here in two minutes."

Seika turns to him and quietly whispers. "This isn't the infirmary, is it?"

"Whoa...Please don't mention that...It's gonna take five minutes from here, no matter what..." The doctor excuses, shrugging. "Well, I think they'll forgive me being a little late. A Team has no issues anyway."

Seika couldn't help but wonder why he felt the need to call Romani in such a hurry in the first place. What seemed like the more 'typical' Mage types weren't the best at HR, to put it diplomatically.

"Oh, that guy's named Lev Lainur. He's the mage who created the Near-Future Observation Lens, Sheba; A telescope used to observe that pseudo-planet, Chaldeas. Sheba not only observes Chaldeas, but also serves as a surveillance system for most of this facility." Seika nods along. Romani makes her feel like she can understand approximately half of this probably. "Also, it was the previous director who built the summoning/unsummoning system, which is the foundation of the Rayshift tech. To actualize that theory, the Pseudo-Spiritron Calculation Engine, (basically a super computer) was provided by the Atlas Academy. All these different talents have been gathered to carry out this mission."

He sighs, smiling. "It's pointless for an ordinary doctor like me to be there, but if I'm summoned, I must go."

He stands up, giving Seika a Japanese-style bow. "Thanks for chatting with me, Seika-san!" He manages in halted Japanese. "When you get settled in, come by the infirmary. Next time, I'll treat you to some yummy cake."

"Only if I can save some for my si-" The lights suddenly cut out, leaving them in blackness.

-ster.

"What's this? The light's are out. Did something-"

A booming sound rings out in the distance, with a loud alarm klaxon shortly following it.

_"Emergency. Emergency."_

A robotic voice broadcasts.

_"A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central Command Room. Central Area's containment wall will activate in 90 seconds. All staff must evacuate from Gate 2 at once. Containment wall will close in 40 seconds. Those remaining in Central Area, evacuate immediately-"_

"Was that an explosion just now?" Roman's voice is steady but with a distinct nervous edge. "What on earth is happening? Monitor, show us the Command Room! Is everybody all right?"

A terrible scene is displayed. The calming blue lit up as fire's red, destruction bringing chaos to order. It wasn't so terrible however, that Seika couldn't make room for another to cross her mind.

"...Command Room? What about Mash?"

"What's this-"

Light comes back on, albeit distinctly dimmer, more strained.

"Seika, evacuate right now." Roman fixes her with a serious stare. "I'm going to the Command Room. The containment wall is about to close. Get yourself out before it's too late!"

Seika feels Fou nudge her cheek. He gives her a meaningful stare.

"I know." She stands up. "Let's go save Mash!"

"Fou!"

"Wait, what are you doing?" Romani calls out as Seika begins to hurry towards her destination. "Wrong way, Gate 2's over there!" He jogs, barely keeping pace. "Don't tell me you're coming with me? Sure the more helping hands the better, but..."

He shakes his head. "Oh man, there's no time to argue! Make sure you get back before it's too late!"

They force the entry to the Command Room open together, only to be immediately greeted with fire that would make any frying pan tempting.

"...No survivors." Dr. Archaman proclaims in a grim tone. "Only Chaldeas is safe."

He hurries over to a spot inside. "This was where the explosion originated. This was no accident, it was sabotage."

Seika was never more grateful that pushy men didn't always get their way...she hoped Lev was okay…

_"Generator operation stopped. Power level critical. Switch to the backup generator, error. Please make switch manually. Containment wall will close in 40 seconds. Those remaining in Central Area, evacuate immediately-"_

"...I'm heading down to the underground power station. We can't let Chaldea's light go out." Romani declares resolutely, slightly softening when he turns back to face her. "Hurry up and go back the way we came. You can still make it."

"Romani, I-"

"Listen, don't stop anywhere along the way! Go outside, and wait for help!"

_"System switching to the final phase of Rayshift. Coordinates, AD 2004, January, 30th, Fuyuki, Japan. Laplace's shifting protection established. Singularity's additional factor slot secured. Unsummon Program set. Please start final adjustments."_

...  
She wasn't done yet.

"...I should look for survivors till the last minute..."

She coughs slightly as the heat rises around her, forces her hands to dig through the rubble. Every sinew screams to smother the roar of flames around her, but she Wasn't. Done. Yet.

"!"

Eventually, her objective is found.

"...Oh." Mash spits a fleck of blood as Seika clears the way to her.

With those wounds, she's…

"...Hang in there, I'll get you out now!"

"...It's all...right." Mash manages. "You can't...save...me." She gives her that damn smile once more. "Don't mind me, please...Run."

Suddenly, the globe in the center of the room glow alight. But now the color of molten lava to match its current surroundings.

"?!"

"Ah..."

_"Warning to all observation staff. Chaldeas' state has changed. Now rewriting Sheba's near-future prediction data."_

_"Unable to detect the existence of mankind 100 years in the near-future on Earth."_

_"Unable to confirm human survivors."_

_"Unable to guarantee mankind's future."_

"Chaldeas...has turned bright red..." Mash coughs. "No, never mind, that-"

_"Central Area, sealed. 180 seconds until internal containment procedure."_

"...they, shut off, the area." She wheezed. "...Now, we can't, get out."

That's right. They were in the same boat now.

"...We'll figure it out." Seika somehow musters the strength to sound reassuring.

_"Coffin Vitals: Masters Baseline not reached. Rayshift requirement not met. Searching for qualifying Master…"_  
_"Found."_

_"Candidate No. 48, Seika Fujimura reset as Master."_

_"Unsummon Program, start. Spiritron Conversion, start."_

"...Um...Sen...pai?" Mash forced out. Neither of them noticed the energy building around them. "Would you mind...Holding my hand?"

Seika had been doing that for the past minute.

_"Rayshift starting in 3"_

She squeezes it tighter with every last drop of strength left in her body.

_"2"_

'Romani...'

_"1"_

'Ritsuki...'

_"All procedures clear."_

'im-'

_"First Order, commencing operation."_


	3. Fuyuki-New Beginnings

"Kyuu...Kyuu."

...This sound…

"Fou...fou...fou..."

…

It's like something licked her cheek again-

"Senpai."

Huh. This voice was familiar too.

"Please wake up, Senpai."

...An odd thought briefly crossed Seika Fujimura's mind in its waking haze. Despite the relative distance the voice was coming from, it was hard not to picture her as some bizarre mixture of her and the fluffy source of the previous sensations. She wasn't sure how she felt about it to be quite honest.

"...Won't wake up. Maybe I should use the official title..." The voice continued, before aheming.

"Master, please wake up. If you don't wake up, I will kill you."

…

Well, that certainly got Seika's attention. After a momentary pause she sat up dramatically...or at least attempted to, managing her eyes open in the split second before she proceeded to fall to the side disoriented from the sudden motion. Thankfully her fall was partially cushioned by-...oh.

She groaned. "Sorry, Fou." The animal seemed a tad irritated being suddenly pressed into cushion duty but was otherwise unharmed.

"Thank goodness you're awake now, Senpai!" Mash continued as Seika rubbed her blinking eyes. "I'm glad you're safe."

"You too, Mash." She smiles and turns to Mash before stopping, face frozen unnaturally.

Mash, now clad in some sort of black and purple bodysuit with gaps on the midriff, thighs and shoulder areas and carrying a shield taller than her in a cross shape over a circle, stares back bemusedly. "...I'll explain later. First, take a look around you, please."

Now that she had roughly waken up, Seika had roughly inferred that they were somewhere else. Her last memory was of seemingly facing death in that burning room, and then suddenly light claimed them...(BGM: Into the Night-Fate/Stay Night) and yet the air itself didn't really feel all that different. As she looked around, she quickly realized why.

It was still burning.

They both appeared to be in a clearing in some sort of city, if all the buildings of various sizes visible nearby and in the distance was any indication. Or at least, what remained of one, judging by the fact that they were all in various states of collapse, blackened by the fires that seemed to scorching the landscape as far as the eye could see. And even from here, Seika could tell she and Mash were the only ones around, the dull static of fire and decay the only sound or sensation that filled what would otherwise be the eerie silence haunting this place.

'_Coordinates, AD 2004, January, 30__th__, Fuyuki, Japan.'_

The mechanical words of the announcement flashed through Seika's mind as she took everything in. Fuyuki...she remembered this place. Some extended family lived here didn't they? She had vague memories of visiting someplace similar when she was younger, but it was naturally hard to reconcile the ephemeral memories of that place with the bleak situation before her eyes. Just what on earth had-

"Gi..."

A sudden sound shook Seika from her musing. Something was moving near one of the many piles of rubble scattering the area. Was that a...skeleton?

"GAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The monster screeched at her, waving a rusty, dull-looking weapon her way. Another similarly-armed creature began to appear from the debris, moving slowly but deliberately towards the two girls.

"...Linguistic communication impossible." Mash states matter of factly as Seika quickly stands, breath hitched in her throat. "Identifying life-form as hostile." She looks towards the erstwhile Chaldean with a mix of reassurance and expectation.

"Master, your orders, please. You and I will overcome this together!"

Seika was still currently trying to overcome the sensation of her heart trying to burst from her chest. She took, and let out, a deep breath. Right. Shit was officially on now. Hopefully her time thrown into that simulator would count for something. She made an admirable attempt at decisively pointing towards the skeleton shambling towards them and…

Nothing came out. Perhaps a faint sound at most escaped the would-be Master's lips. It was partially the weight of the situation still bearing down on her, part...well, what was she even supposed to say? She had no idea what this thing, or apparently Mash somehow, could do. She glances back towards Mash and indicates with her finger a few more times, hoping she got the gist.

The lavender-haired girl smiles at her sympathetically. "Roger that, Master."

Hefting the large shield as if it were a toy, she dashed towards them at a speed Seika half-expected to disrupt the air around her like some kinda anime. Just as effortlessly, she brings her momentum into a leaping spin, diving into the first skeleton with a spinning kick following up by a solid strike from her shield, using the protruding cross-shape in a clubbing fashion. Her blows decisively staggered the creature, barely hanging on as it and its ally moved forward to counterattack with haphazard swings easily blocked by her shield and giving the opportunity for her to continue the assault. She followed up with a punch to its exposed midsection/ribcage, then leaps up in the air, flipping forward to slam her weight upon it with her shield, its bony form breaking apart with sharp snapping noises.

"Mash!"

The shield-bearer turned her head at Seika's call in time to notice the other skeleton had taken the opportunity to shuffle forward for another attack. Its blow seemed imminent...until it passed right through her somehow, some strange property of the air seeming to shimmer as she dived forward through its attack, throwing it off balance with a powerful jaw blow before retrieving her shield and slamming it right onto it, similarly reducing it to a jumble of dry bones.

"...phew." Mash sighs as she picks her shield back up and dusts herself off. "I had my worries, but we made it somehow." She turns to Seika, still reeling from how the preceeding events took place in seconds. "Are you hurt Senpai? Does your stomach hurt or does it feel heavy?"

She shakes her head in response. Thankfully it seemed however they got here wasn't a hard landing at least. "What...was that?" She asks hesitantly. It could've been about any number of things at this point, but being attacked by walking skeletons was definitely high on the list right now.

Mash's gaze fell pensively. "...I don't know. Something that doesn't exist in our era, let alone this era. That was the cause of the Singularity, or something like it. I guess calling it that isn't too far off, or maybe it is."

"Right, I finally got through!" A familiar voice interrupted them, a holographic image of Dr. Romani looking fairly haggard faintly visible if they concentrated. "Hello? This is Chaldea Command Room? Do you read me?"

"This is Mash Kyrielight, a member of A Team." Mash responded, her usual quiet calm back in place. "At this time, I've completed the shift to Singularity F. My sole companion is Seika Fujimura, mind and body both intact. Rayshift compatibility, Master compatibility both satisfactory. Please register Seika as an official researcher."

"...So Seika also got dragged into the Rayshift, huh?" Romani sighed, then seemed to smile at her. "I'm impressed you didn't 'lose your existence'. I'm really glad. Also, Mash…" He regards Mash with a perplexed expression. "Of course I'm glad you're safe, too… But what's up with that outfit? It's shameless! I didn't raise you to dress like that!"

"I transformed into this." Mash blushed self-consciously. Seika had also been wondering about that but certainly wasn't going to say that as…bluntly as the good doctor had. Wait, 'raised'? "I couldn't protect Senpai wearing Chaldea's uniform."

"What do you mean by transformed, Mash? Did you hit your head? Or was it that..."

"Dr. Roman." She cuts him off sharply. "Please be quiet." She briefly sighs in the abrupt pause. "Please check my condition." She continues, calm again. "I think you'll understand my situation better."

"Your physical condition?" Romani appears to fiddle with something. "Wh-Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Physical strength, Magical Circuits, everything's improved!" He gasps. "You're not so much a human, but-"

"Yes. I'm a Servant. I don't remember how it happened, but it seems I have survived by fusing with a Servant. To investigate and resolve Singularity F, a Servant was provided in advance at Chaldea. This servant...lost its Master in that explosion, and was doomed to vanish. But at the last second, he offered me a contract. In return for the abilities and Noble Phantasm of a Heroic Spirit, he wanted me to eliminate the cause of this Singularity."

"A Heroic Spirit and a human, fused...A Demi-Servant? That's Chaldea's sixth experiment. I see. So it finally succeeded, huh?" Romani gives a small smile. "Does this Heroic Spirit still have his consciousness?"

"...No," Mash replied with a pause. "He gave me his combat abilities then vanished. He never revealed his True Name even at the end. So I don't even know whose Heroic Spirit I am..." She looks down at the shield on her arm. "...Nor what kind of Noble Phantasm I'm holding. At this point there's too much I don't know."

"Hey, look on the bright side." Romani replied with a practised warmth. "Not every Servant who gets summoned is cooperative. Now that you're a Servant, this is in our favor. After all, you're completely trustworthy." He turns back to Seika. "Seika, it looks like you're the only one who Rayshifted there safely. Also, I am sorry. Forcing you into this without any explanation. I'm sure you're full of questions, but try not to worry."

With him at her back, she already wasn't.

"You've already got a powerful weapon." He beams. "Humanity's most powerful weapon – Mash."

"I don't know about 'most powerful'." Mash shrugs. "I'm the one who gets blamed later."

"Now, now, as long as Seika understands that's what a Servant is, it'll be fine. But Seika, while Servants can be reliable allies, they also have a weakness. They disappear without their magical energy source. Their Master. I'm still analysing the data, but it's indicating that Mash has become your Servant. Meaning that you're Mash's Master. She's the first Heroic Spirit you've entered a contract with."

Seika blinks and takes a moment to process it all. "Yeah I...think I get that?"

Romani chuckles. "Right, I don't blame you for being confused. I never explained what Masters and Servants are to you, anyway. Now's a good time, I'll explain it to you in detail. The current mission has two new goals..."

"Doctor, you're breaking up." Mash observes. Indeed, his words were starting to get fuzzy. "10 seconds until the connection is lost."

"Huh, so Sheba's output is unstable because we switched to the backup generators? Oh well, I'll brief you later. Both of you, I'm getting a strong leyline reading about two kilometres from where you are. Try to get there somehow. That way, it will stabilize our connection. Listen, don't do anything reckless, will you?" He smiles reassuringly. "I'll try to bring the power back up as soon as-"

Suddenly the voice and presence cut off, Romani seeming to wink out of existence in a flash.

Seika sighed. "Well, looks like we're off to the leyline."

"Right," Mash smiles. "You're so dependable Senpai. I was actually terrified, so thank goodness."

"Kyu. Fou, Fooou!"

"That's right, you're with us as well, aren't you Fou?" Mash squats down to give the creature some pets. "Thank you for cheering us up. Apparently, Fou Rayshifted here with you Senpai...Ah. But I forgot to let the Doctor know..."

"Kyu. Fou, kyaao!"

"I think he said something like 'don't worry about him'." Seika translated.

Mash smiles. "You're right. I'll find the right time to let him know about Fou later." She stands up and faces in a different direction. "First, let's head to the coordinates he mentioned. Once we get there, we should be able to set up a base camp."

"Camp definitely sounds good right about now." Seika agreed. "Definitely thinking you can take up front for now. Lead the way, Mash."

(BGM: Fuyuki theme-Fate/Grand Order)

They slowly made their way through the ruined city, careful to avoid any further encounters. Thankfully, no other skeletons appeared to menace them, though that was cold comfort against the oppressive silence, every step seeming to fill the streets were it not for the ever-present hum of the flames. Everything beneath the tar-pitch hazy sky seemed to exist in a monochrome duality of flame or ash, whatever thing not alit with harsh glow instead rendered blackened. It was as if any other color or life had been burnt out by whatever had happened, or was happening, to this place.

'_Senpai'_ Mash voice rang in Seika's thoughts. Both had felt the invisible thread between them now present from their bond, and tacitly agreed to limit unnecessary noise. _'We will soon reach the point the Doctor specified. There are only flames as far as the eye can see...it's nothing like the Fuyuki in our data.'_

'_Yeah, something like this...shouldn't have happened anywhere. But it sure as hell didn't happen here, I think. What's going on here?'_

'_According to our data, it's an average regional city. There's no record of such a disaster occurring in 2004...the Mana density in the atmosphere is also abnormal. In fact, it's a lot like ancient Earth...'_

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

A woman's scream pierced through the air loudly in the direction they were headed. The two turned to each other and nodded, hurrying as fast as they could, Mash slowing to keep within pace of her Master.

"Wh-who are these guys, anyway? Why do these things keep happening to me?" A familiar woman whined, as she slowly backed away from the multiple skeletons creeping towards her. "I can't take it anymore! Come save me, Lev! You were always there for me right?"

"...Director Olga Marie?" Mash states quizzically as they catch up to her.

"Y-you two! What in the world is going on here?"

"Right now," Seika replies. "Dealing with these guys. Mash, you know what to do!"

"Engaging enemy combatants." The Demi-Servant acknowledges, charging an isolated skeleton with a forward slide that sweeps it off its feet, leaving it helpless to block a crushing from her shield bash. She then sweeps the shield up with a spin before releasing to throw at one of the advancing creatures, fatally impaling it on one of the nearby buildings. Waiting for the other to move forward to attack, she then dashed to its side in a burst of speed, catching its arm and throwing it in a Judo-like manoeuvrer, dislocating the arm entirely before she stomps right through its skull. After making sure nothing else immediately threatened them, she went to retrieve her shield.

"The battle is over." She calls, pulling the shield out and displacing a chunk or two of metal in the process. "Are you hurt, Director?"

"...What's going on?" Olga Marie repeated in an uncertain tone.

"Director? About my situation." Mash continues as she walks back over to them. "I know it's hard to believe, but the truth is-"

"A Demi-Servant, right?" She snaps back quickly. "It's pretty obvious you fused with a Servant. What I want to know is why it's successful _now_ all of a sudden!" She shakes her head. "Enough of that. You!" She points at Seika while sternly stepping towards her. "The civilian who showed up late to my speech! How did _you_ become a Master? Only first-class Mages can enter contracts with Servants! There's no way you could ever become a Master!" The Director seems to loom over Seika with only a few inches more of height, finger pointed firmly between her eyes. "What did you do to her to have her do your bidding?" She hissed.

"W-woah..." Seika protests weakly, finishing raising the hands that had already instinctively came up by her sides. "Whatever you're implying is _way _off base here!"

"There's a misunderstanding, Director." Mash mercifully interjects. "I'm actually the one who forced the contract."

"What did you say?" Olga's stern gaze switched to her.

"I'll explain how it happened. That way we can understand each other's situation better."

While Mash sums up everything, Seika takes the break from the woman's scrutiny to release a breath or three she didn't realize she'd been holding a while. In between Mash's proven combat capabilities and the assurance that Olga Marie was apparently a potent Mage in her own right, Seika felt safe enough to let her guard down for the first time since the fateful explosion had rocked Chaldea. Even then, just being in this place was setting her on edge a bit. Whatever she had expected, it was never going to be this. And hopefully never would be again.

"...And that's how it happened." Mash concludes. "We were dragged into a Rayshift, and teleported here to Fuyuki. No other Master candidates shifted with us. You're the only human we've run into, Director. But this gives me hope. If you're here, that means there must be other candidates who got teleported here..."

The woman appeared to give pause in the face of her sincerity, but pressed on regardless. "...There aren't, actually. That much I'm certain of." She sighs. "...I hate to admit it, but I know why we were shifted to Fuyuki."

"So you understand why we survived?"

Olga nods. "All of us here share a common denominator. Neither me, nor you, nor that one 'were actually inside the Coffins.' Though Rayshifting flesh and blood isn't likely to succeed, it's not impossible. Meanwhile, the coffins have breakers. When the success rate's below 95%, the power's cut off. So they never actually Rayshifted. We're the only ones here."

"I see. That's why you're the director." Mash smiles.

"...wait, Director." Seika speaks up. "Were you...not going to shift yourself?"

The stare boring into her soon makes her question that decision.

"...Is that a problem?" Olga replies calmly, in a way that somehow seemed even more irritated. "What commander heads to the front lines? Didn't I tell you that you were my tools?"

Seika meekly shrugs.

"...Hmmph, whatever." Olga tosses her head a bit as she crosses her arms together. "I understand the situation now. Fujimura, since it's an emergency I'll approve you and Kyrielight's contract. From here on out, you'll follow my commands. First, let's set up a base camp." She strides forward, commanding both their gazes towards her. "Listen, this is the time to search for a Leyline Terminal. A place where magical energy converges. There we'll be able to contact Chaldea." She raises a finger in front of her and stares at it. "So in this town's case..."

"This is the point, Director. The Ley point is at your feet."

"Whoa!" Olga tried not to jump a little, then quickly composed herself in Mash's direction. "Oh r-right, I knew that, I knew that, of course!" She indicates below her. "Mash, place your shield on the ground. I'm going to set up a summoning circle, with your Noble Phantasm as the catalyst."

"...So she says." Mash regards Seika. "Are you all right with that, Senpai?"

"I'm not about letting go of the weapon to be honest." Seika shrugs. "But yeah, let's do it."

"...Understood. Now let us begin."

Olga took out some reagents, sternly instructing Seika to stay back and not touch anything while she prepared an ornate formation around the shield Mash laid down. After a few minutes of intricate work, Olga stood back a bit and muttered an obscure incantation. Suddenly, a blue aura projected in the circle, thrumming gently as transparent glowing rings seems to fade in and out of reality around the perimeter.

"This is...The same as the summoning experiment chamber at Chaldea." Mash wondered.

"CQ, CQ." Romani popped up once more. "Hello, hello? Okay, the connection's back! Good job, you've secured the connection. Now we can communicate again, and even send rations-"

"Huh?! Why are you running the show, Romani?" Olga loudly barked. "What about Lev? Where's Lev? Put Lev on!"

"Waaaahhhhhhh!" Romani exclaimed in surprise. "D-director, you're alive? And you're unharmed? What the-"

"What's that supposed to mean? Where's Lev? What's the head medic doing in charge?"

"Don't ask me why." He holds up his hands and shrugs. "I'm fully aware that I'm not cut out for this job." He gives her a serious look. "But there's nobody else, Olga Marie. Currently, the surviving full time staff of Chaldea is less than twenty people, including me. The reason I'm in charge of operations is because there's no one ranked higher than me who survived. Dr Lev was supervising from the Command Room...there's no way he could survive that blast..."

"...No way...Lev..." Olga replied in an uncharacteristically small voice, before shaking herself. "No, forget that, wait...please wait. Less than 20 survivors? What about the Master candidates...the coffins?"

"...47, all in critical condition and we're short on medical supplies. We might be able to save a few, but all of them might be-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" She stomps forward and clenches her fist. "Cryopreserve them immediately! Think about reviving them later. Your top priority is to make sure they don't die!"

"I forgot the coffins had those functions! I'll get on it right away!" Romani can be heard scrambling before communication cuts off.

"...That surprises me." Mash observes. "Cryopreservation without prior consent is a crime. Yet you made the decision right away. You put human lives ahead of your own reputation as the director."

"Don't be stupid!" Olga huffs back."As long as they're not dead, I can explain myself later, why else? In the first place, 47 lives..." She looks down for a second then shakes her head, staring right back at them. "There's no way I can carry that burden! Please..." She rests her hand on her cravat, muttering more to herself. "Don't die...I'm begging you...If only Lev were here!"

It was a kind of relief when Romani got back shortly after and began reporting

Olga Marie...Seika wasn't sure what to think of her by now. While obviously very far from a people person, she'd very quickly demonstrated that the depth and directness of her temper applied equally to her conscience. She was definitely someone of a strong, sharp will, for better or worse. That's at least part of why she evidently needed to take control of the situation when plausible. It just seemed to come naturally to her. Something inside her was pushing hard, that much was for certain.

"...This concludes my report. Chaldea has lost 80% of its functionality. There's only so much that the remaining staff can do." Romani morosely surmises. "I'm shifting available manpower to Rayshift repairs, and maintaining Chaldeas' and Sheba's current states. As soon as external communications are back up, we'll request supplies and start rebuilding Chaldea."

"That's fine." Olga exhales loudly. "I would've done the same if I was there." She shakes her head to herself. "...Ah. Romani Archaman. I don't like it, but until I return you're in charge of Chaldea. Make the Rayshift repairs your top priority. We'll be investigating this town. The Singularity F."

"Director, you're not afraid to be at ground zero? When did you become so brave?"

"...Seriously," Olga huffs in exasperation. "You don't know when to shut up. I'd like nothing better than to go back now, but it's going to take time till you finish the Rayshift repairs. This town only contains low-level monsters, with Mash as a Demi-Servant we'll be safe. Accident or not, we Animuspheres pride ourselves on doing our best in the situations we're given. I'll be looking into Singularity F with Seika Fujimura and Mash Kyrielight as investigators. That said, since my field staff is inexperienced, the extent of this mission will be to discover the cause of this anomaly. Analysis and eradication will have to wait until after Chaldea's restored, and I can send in a second team. You okay with that?"

Seika blinks as she realize she was referred to. "Oh. Just exploring? That'd be nice and easy yeah..."

"Roger that." Romani nods. "Best of luck to you, Director. We can now communicate in short bursts. Feel free to contact me in an emergency."

"...Huh!" Olga scoffs. "Even if we sent an SOS, nobody would come to our rescue."

"Director?"

"Nothing, I'm cutting off the connection." She waves dismissively. "Go do your job."

"...Director, are you sure about this?" Mash asks after the connection stops. "There's also the option of waiting here for rescue."

"I can't afford to do that." Olga shakes her head. "After we return to Chaldea, who knows how long it will take to select the next team? Do you know how much the Association will harass me in the meantime? Worst case, they'll blame me for mismanagement, and I'll lose Chaldea to them. If that came to pass, I'd be toast. I can't go back empty-handed. I need something that will shut them up!"

She sighs. "...Sorry, but you're both stuck with me, Mash, Anthy. The cause of this twisted history must be here somewhere. So our first objective shall be to explore this town...but first, while we have a summoning circle to work with," The Director reaches into her pocket for something. "This is highly unorthodox, and I'm having many, _many_ second thoughts about it...but this is hardly an ideal situation in the first place. After what happened to the Command Room, I can't afford to not take chances." She hands Seika a crystal composed of diamond-like rhombus shapes, shimmering a rainbow hue. It feels vaguely tingly in her hands.

"What..."

"This is what we call a Saint Quartz," Olga preempts her inquiry. "While research into the complexities of it's true properties and potential applications is still ongoing, what we _do_ know is that it possess great compatibility as a summoning reagent, albeit with potentially...unusual results." She gives Seika a suspicious grin. "I hope you're glad to be able to serve Chaldea as a researcher for this unique subject matter."

"...Director," Mash chimes in with an uncertain expression. "You're suggesting that Seika perform a servant summoning ritual? That's-"

"I am aware that it is highly unusual given her pre-existing contract with you, Kyrielight. However, need I remind you both of your places?" She crosses her arms again. "Bar any pending changes, to be decided at a later date, you are still a member of A team. Your current Master, is not. I said that I approved your contract since it's an emergency. Once we have a clearer grasp on the situation following the completion of our current expedition, re-organization can and must take place." Her unflinching gaze bore down on the both of them. "Do I make myself clear?"

Seika seemed like she was about to say something, but the words faltered in her throat and she nodded. Mash looked down glumly and did the same. "Yes, Director."

The woman nods back. "Good." There is a very slight softness from her characteristic hard edge that continues as she regards Seika. "Now, Fujimura. I still think you didn't need to be sent into the thick of things, especially given your obvious lack of experience. But at the same time, we work with what we must. This shall give you the chance to secure a proper Servant contract in the event you are required to serve as back-up." She smirks. "And at the same time, prove to me your contract with Kyrielight is more than a mere fluke."

"I...won't let you down, Director." Seika nods, smiling in a way that earns an amused snort back.

"That...makes a good degree of sense." Mash replies with a mix of deflation and impressed. "But Director, as you've pointed out, Seika is a fledgling Master. Would she be able to handle the strain of two familiars at once?"

"I know what I'm doing." Olga bites back. "Like I said earlier, the only threats in this place appear to be low-level monsters. Divided between two of you, especially given the decreased tax inherent to Demi-Servant existences, it should be relatively simple to spread the load without taxing Fujimura greatly. And in the event she strains herself, I am capable of supplying some of my own Mana." She rests a firm grip on Seika's shoulder. "Any tool requires proper care to be useful, no?"

Seika smiles once more. "I'll do my best. But...permission to ask something?"

"What is it."

"...Why couldn't you just do this yourself?"

"Tch!" Olga harrumphs. "I have my reasons, and you have your assigned task." (BGM: Deep Slumber-Fate/Stay Night Realta Nua) "Now, let me show you..."

The two slowly went around the circle, the older Mage demonstrating the use of certain reagents and patterns at key points along the construction. At the same time, she instructed her in the chant required to make the ritual happen in the first place. After making sure Seika had adequately memorized it, Olga and Mash step back from the circle.

"It's all up to you now, Fujimura. Show that my trust is not misplaced."

"Good luck, Senpai." Mash smiles softly.

Seika returns it and nods in silent acknowledgment, taking in a deep breath or two as she centres herself. Then…

_Let silver and steel be the essence.  
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation_

These ancient words of power reverberated through the empty air, easily cutting through the pallid silence that hung over the clearing where the ritual was taking place. Ash and smoke permeated the ruined area, swirling towards the darkened skies as if in a pathetic dying grasp for life, some release from the flames scorching the land that had already been long since tainted by something profoundly foul. Crumbled buildings, once bustling with activity and life, now stood as the headstones and tombs of a graveyard.

_Let the myriad possibilities coalesce into one certain truth_ _  
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall_

If these things bothered Seika, she did not show it, focused so intently on her work. The Saint Quartz shimmered a rainbow hue as she placed it in the centre of the ritual circle.

_Let the four cardinal gates close.  
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate._

Small lights began to form at the edges of the summoning circle. The field had been constructed with a large, partially cross-shaped shield as its fixture, energy softly thrumming as it serves as a focal point for the arcane forces slowly beginning to swirl around the mystic ring.

_I hereby declare..._

She slowly inhaled and exhaled, steadying themselves and masking the moment of hesitation that came before the next part of this verse. The sheer weight of just what she was committing herself to seemed to press upon her like a pressure akin to the ocean floor. This was not the beginning of her downward trek, but the depths to which she would continue to sink upon this course felt like it could threaten to crush her.

_Your body shall serve under me. _

And yet...

_My fate shall be your sword._

Her resolution was ultimately firm. She was an individual for whom giving up a course of action taken in earnest sincerity was unthinkable, unfathomable. 'Why stop now when we've already got this far? Might as well make the most of what we have!' was the maxim of her sort. Much more rested upon her shoulders than mere pride. The last thing she would ever do is let that down. The lights slowly increased in brightness, blooming from dim hue to glowing radiance as if in response to the renewal of this resolution.

_Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail  
If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!_

As she raised her voice, the lights began to swirl, racing together in a loop within the shields circumference. The small crystal that served as a catalyst began to rise partially in the air, vibrating from the forces it serves to mantle, the same energies that manifest the halo-esque light shimmering in a ring around it.

_An oath shall be sworn here! _

The rings that form in the circle and the crystal at its centre begin to start shaking violently, the forces of creation seeming to converge at this small, specific point in time. Something not quite Magic, but nevertheless magical, was taking place.

_I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven._

Eventually part of the energy breaks off, forming a quavering but relatively contained band of light encircling the ritual area at roughly the height and a half again of the chanting figure.

_I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!_

The phenomenon repeats, this time oscillating somewhere around their upper torso, leaving another to stay thrumming at the level of her boots. At the same time, the mass of energy that had been piling together at the centre of the ritual crackled in visible form, the physical crystal floating back down as silent witness to the miracle being performed.

_From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power,_

The arcs of power swooped down, compressing towards the centre of the shield then shooting up like a laser, which proceeded to be amplified by the stormy mass of ether at the center. The result is a towering pillar of light that expands to cover the shield, a rare sight to pierce the area's apathetic night with pure white. Seika brings a hand to her face (wait, she never noticed this tattoo here...nevermind that now), squinting slightly but undaunted as she brings it to a finish.

_Come forth from the ring of restraints,  
Protector of the Holy Balance!_

Another figure can be vaguely made out in the brilliant swirl of power in the brief moment before it somehow flashes all the brighter, its conclusion revealing…

* * *

(BGM: As It Is-Pat Metheny)

Deja Vu.

That was my first thought after the summons brought me from my recent (well, inasmuch as concepts like 'time' apply there) place in the Throne of Heroes and materialized into reality once more. It was probably all the burnt and burning everywhere. I had quite the story etched in my Spirit Origin about fires, and this looked and felt distressingly similar. No wonder my help was needed again(?) This certainly looked more like the aftermath of why beings like me were usually needed.

As the flash of light died down, I adjusted my glasses as I regarded the people close-by. From what I could tell, the only people anywhere for quite a while, so the process of elimination was an easy one; my Master was here.

They all had a mix of reactions: the orange haired girl in the black-and-white outfit had her mouth agape in an expression of subdued awe, uncertain what to do or say next. The girl my senses registered as a Servant of some kind further back in a black-and-purple bodysuit regarded me with a quiet curiosity tinged with an odd melancholy. And the pretty lady with elegant hair and a refined look, in both fashion and bearing, fixed a sceptical gaze over me. Not that I much minded getting an eyeful, especially from someone like her, but it didn't seem like she was overly impressed.

"Expecting someone taller?" I smirked.

The orange-haired girl seemed like she was going to say something, but the woman had other ideas.

"Is...is this some soft of joke?" She sneered with obvious exasperation, eyeing the girl. "Fujimura, I'll admit I wasn't expecting too much of you given the circumstances, that'd be simply unfair with your level of experience, or lack thereof. But...seriously!"

"Director, please calm down." The purple girl interjected in a reserved voice. "Appearances can often be deceiving when it comes to the capabilities of Spirits. And even then, this woman hardly appears _completely_ lacking in this regard." Likely referring to the fact I had more than a foot over her and had at least a little Brick House vibe going on build-wise. Screw curves, I had _guns._

"Yes, Servants can be...unconventional, but I don't expect them to resemble some non-Magus one could find casually walking the streets!"

"True that," I shrugged. "Of course, you could just ask me about it, I'm right here after all."

This Director snorted and put her fists to her hips. "Very well then. Who exactly are you?"

"That's better. Though ultimately I should probably be talking to this lil lady here." I turn to the orange-haired girl and give a polite nod. "You're my Master, aren't you?"

She gulps, nodding. "Yeah, I guess."

I smile reassuringly. "Mind if I ask your name first?" I could probably figure it out from the bond already forming between our essences, but first impressions were important after all.

"Fujimura Seika." She bows slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, er...Servant-san?"

I chuckle, bowing back. "Trust me, I don't warrant that kind of formality, Seika-san."...I'd barely even noticed my sudden shift to Japanese. I guess it made sense given that she seemed to be. I switch back to English for my introduction.

"Samantha's the name, and Servant Caster's my game. But you can call me Anthy, okay?"

"Okay." She replies back fluently, grinning brightly. "Nice to meet you Anthy!"

"Likewise." I reply as we both go for a firm handshake. Well, firm for her, gingerly not easily crushing every bone in her hand for me. It was remarkably easy to control, but us Servants were damn strong.

"Wait...Samantha...who?" The Director quizzically interjects.

"Oh yeah, uh...I'm not exactly what you'd call legendary or famous." I shrug. "It's...quite a long story I'm afraid...and one I can't entirely remember the exact details of right now, but trust me, Seika here's in good hands. And look on the bright side, no famous weak-spot to screw me over, right?"

She narrows her eyes, obviously unconvinced, but seems to let it go for now. "Well, regardless, Fujimura now has you contracted to serve under her. Which also makes you answer to me by proxy." She steps forward, somehow drawing herself up even further in poise. "I am Olga Marie Animusphere, Director in charge of the Chaldea Security Organization, in charge of the titular laboratory-observatory monitoring, and currently protecting, the history and future of humanity. It was I who authorized your summoning in the service of investigating and perhaps in future resolving this Singularity. Our task is nothing less than safeguarding the potential future of mankind itself. I trust you understand the gravity of this duty?" No pressure, huh.

"Understood." I nod. "It's an honour to be working with you, miss Animusphere."

As she grins at my obsequence, the purple girl raises her voice once more, stepping forward also. "It's a pleasure to be working with you, Samantha. I am Mash Kyrielight, fused with and serving in the capacity of Servant Shielder."

"A Demi-Servant huh? Not the first I've worked with." That's one way of putting it, me. "How much Mash and/or Shielder am I talking to right now?"

She bites her lip and glances away slightly. "My fused spirit only left me their combat capabilities and Noble Phantasm...which in absence of their name is also unknown. Our union has...somewhat unique circumstances. I am something classed as a Demi-Servant instead for this reason."

"Ah, right gotcha." A magic lab's gonna come up with weird shit I suppose. "Well don't worry Mash, it'll come naturally I'm sure." I gently pat her head, which merits a slight blush.

"A-anyway," A lush of a man chimes in from somewhere. "I suppose this is where I should introduce myself." I turn and see the faint spiritual image of a wild-ponytailed man smiling unassumingly. "I'm Romani Archaman, head of Chaldea's medical department. I'm also holding the fort down while the Director is out on your current mission." He obvious swells with pride. "Don't worry, everything's under control on my watch!"

"Nice to meetcha. And yeah, I can tell this is pretty impressive for you, keep it up."

His face falls ever so slightly. "I should feel complimented by that...I think..."

'_Anthy!'_ Master's voice chimes in my thoughts.

'_Just kinda slipped out, sorry. You gotta admit he seems a lil flakey...'_

"Yes, well, let us hope that continues as uneventfully." Olga says brusquely. "Ideally this mission shall only take a little while longer. While we're here though, Romani! Send over some rations, we have no idea how long this could take, and a Master fuelling two Heroic Spirits is an asset to be handled carefully."

"On it." Romani winks out once more.

"Huh...you're in charge of Mash too, Master?" I inquire.

"Yeah, it...sorta just happened when we got here, I guess."

I figured that was the case from what I sensed (Caster class baby), but still…

"You really sure she's up to this, miss?" I ask the Director. "I mean, no offense Seika, but I can tell you're pretty new to this."

Seika shrugs, _'None taken'_, and Olga rolls her eyes.

"I'm confident in my subordinates, Caster. Are you in your Master's strength?"

"Well, I suppose," That was just Servant rule one, in a way. "Just wondering. Mostly there's also the question of organization. You really comfy delegating tactics for both of us to someone who probably didn't even know what a Servant was until yesterday?"

Olga Marie seemed like a tough nut to crack, but I could still tell my words weren't off mark. "And what exactly are you implying or suggesting?"

"Well, is there a reason you didn't-"

"There is." She sharply cut me off. "And it's none of your business." Okay, touched a nerve there.

"Well, Director...I was actually just about to suggest," Seika chimed in. "Why not give Anthy the orders for now? I know I summoned her but...you'd still be better than me probably, and me and Mash kinda already have a thing going so..."

I open my mouth and raise a finger, then stop, as it comes to my chin reflectively. Hmmm.

"That's..." Olga's expression is unreadable.

"Not a bad idea actually." I chuckle. "You can assess my worth more personally, and Seika's got less plates to spin. Sound alright?"

Her face twitches in a way one could theoretically call a smile. "I suppose that would be acceptable. While I do not have the sympathetic link Fujimura does, I am confident in my ability as an Animusphere and a Magus to overcome that issue." She extends a hand. "And exceed it."

I reach out at take it, her shake refined and businesslike. "I'll do my best to keep up, miss Animusphere. Or is that Master for now?"

It seemed like she had to school a great reaction of some kind at that. Even so, something about her seemed to lighten up. "I suppose that would be proper procedure, yes."

_'Sorry, Anthy'_ Master shrugged mentally.

_'I was probably gonna suggest something similar myself. Great minds really do think alike.'_

This was going to be interesting to say the least.

* * *

**Oh wow, some of you were still liking and following this ORZ I'm truly humbled and apologize for the wait. Life happened, plus I was waiting on something relevant to the big reveal.**

**That's right everyone. Self-insert Master's are one thing, but Self-insert *Servants* are where it's at. And I'm not sure anyone else has tried this (if so I would very much like to read if anyone has a link!), so I hope I'm bringing something cool to the table! Also, I can't take total credit (yes I know) for this, which is where I shout out my lovely NBF Atma and her most recent NaNoWriMo (found at .org raw and will soon be posted here, in case you wanna get the low down on our deal. Heads up, later chapters might not be spoilerfree for this, so if you're gonna read this, do it before the rest of mine) which got my inspiration rolling for the concept.**

**And with my arrival comes the divergence. To what extent you'll just have to see, but I was very deliberately playing the dialogue/writing adaption safe up until now, because going forward is when stuff is really going to get stirred up. Was going for a sorta ripple effect thing, in as much as it can. For example, giving Olga Marie better, like she deserves.**

**Anyway, I promise the next update won't take as long aha.**

**(Also, FF now gets my BGM choices, at least in spirit.)**


	4. Fuyuki-Tune Up

**Well, it's less than a month at least.**

**Hey all, hope you liked Seika's Starter SR. Also, you might have noticed the writing change from the POV shift, I just thought third vs first person would be a neat way to distinguish them. I'm still deciding whether I'm going to divide it between chapters or have it occur on a more moment-to-moment basis in future. I'll be experimenting with both over the course of Fuyuki so let me know how it shakes out!**

**Now we get to see her in action (something I'm admittedly still working on my writing chops with) a bit. Enjoy!**

* * *

When given the prospect of summoning a Servant, Seika hadn't really been sure what to expect. Sure, she already had Mash, but as of yet that was functionally just Mash in a weird outfit and much more capable of kicking ass. Then there was her brief outing in the simulator. Larger-than-life figures with fantastical power and a cosplayer's wardrobe appeared to be order of the day, Saber and her 'Excalibur' flashing in her thoughts. As she'd performed the ritual, she'd been simultaneously trying to steel herself for what awaited her and desperately trying to figure out what she could even be preparing _for_.

Her surprise when it manifested someone in a bomber jacket, t-shirt, jersey pants and slip-ons was palpable. The fact she was built like a fighting game character was well below the level of exceptional she'd been prepared to deal with. It helped that she had proven quite approachable upon first impression; while her tone was dry and bearing fairly collected, seeming like part of her was always quietly pondering something at any given moment, Anthy's words and intent had been warm and exuberant. Her casual yet purposeful movements, the ease of her smile, the fullness and fluff of her black shoulder-length mop of hair that could be modelling for some kind of shampoo commercial, the way her green eyes seemed to shimmer with life behind those blue-and-white rimmed glasses. All were subtle reminders that this person (being?) was slightly too good to be possible, like a character from fiction stepped into reality. She'd been getting some of this impression from Mash too, but Anthy far moreso. So this was a Servant was like.

'_Sorry, Anthy' _

'_I was probably gonna suggest something similar myself. Great minds really do think alike.'_

Seika was glad. Not just to make a new friend, but from what she'd been told so far, she was apparently pretty lucky to have them both on the same page so easily already. Not to mention she was doing an admirable job handling Olga's...intense personality. Seika only spotted a slight face fall after the Director turns around, which she could hardly blame her for given how exhausting it must be.

Shortly after, the supplies that Olga had requested manifested from the leyline point. It was quickly decided that, being both the least experienced member with little capacity to protect herself and already being a safety priority as vital to maintaining both the Servants' presence, Seika would be the one to sling the provided pack onto her back for now. This wasn't the first time she'd carried stuff for a trip at least, and it was a moderately light load, so she'd be able to handle it for now.

"Stop." Olga ordered as they were about to set out. "Before we start exploring the city," She turns to face Seika. "Fujimura, isn't there something you want to say to me?"

"...uh?" She eloquently replies.

Olga sighs, a pitying exasperation on her face. "...You're not very smart are you? Remember what happened in the Command Room?"

'Her' Servant next to her had a thick eyebrow raised curiously.

"Senpai, it's probably about when you dozed off in the Command Room." Mash explained. "It'll come back to you if you focus."

'_Mind if you let me take a peek so I can get in the loop here, Master?'_ Anthy suggested, as she felt the Servant's presence in her mind push a bit more.

'_Go ahead.'_ Seika nodded, feeling the other's focus as she cast her mind back…

* * *

"This is the Central Command Room." Mash explained. "Your number, Senpai...Single digit, you're in the front row."

"Take an empty seat in the front row. Right in front of the Director, what bad luck." Mash suddenly poked at her chest. "...Senpai? You're looking a bit pale..."

"Sorry, I'm starting to space out again..."

"It's an after effect of the simulator." Mash frowned, muttering. "I wish I could take you to the infirmary…"

Suddenly everyone began to quiet down slightly as Olga Marie stepped up to the stage.

"No more small talk." Lev whispered. "See, the orientation's already begun."

"Well, that wasn't on time," Olga projected with a severe expression, her otherwise melodious voice grated with a sharp disdain. "But looks like we're all here now. Welcome to Special Organization, Chaldea." She raised one hand, fingers brushed the red cravat on her chest. "I'm the director, Olga Marie Animusphere." She crossed her arms in front of her. "You have been selected or discovered from each nation for your rare talents. By talent I mean your aptitude for Spiritrons. People with magical circuits capable of becoming Masters. I'm _sure _you can't even imagine it, but be sure to keep it in your mind."

She clasped her hands together in front of her. "You are about to be reborn as cutting-edge mages, in an unprecedented fusion of Magecraft and science. That said, although all of you possess special talents," She pointed them towards the crowd. "_None of you_ are special."

There was only a brief pause for a few glances and whispers to pass between the assorted mages before she continued. "Understand that you're _all_ inexperienced rookies, standing at the same starting point." She continued bluntly, fixing them with a hard look and putting her hands on her hips. "In particular, the mages sent from the Association still seem to be acting like students. Fix that. _Immediately_."

She kept going, slightly raising in volume over everyone's reactions, expression uncompromising. "Chaldea is _my_ domain. Family heritage and personal achievements have _no_ meaning here. Always remember that my orders are _absolute_. My position is _completely_ different from yours. I won't allow arguments. You're all mere _tools _to protect humanity, _nothing_ more."

The gentle current of chatter rose to a wave of indignant protest. Her face drew into a scowl.

"...What's that commotion? Didn't I _just _tell you that I wouldn't allow any arguments?"

An irritated snort blew from her nose as she fixed her stare at Seika. "You there. The one who came in late. Do you have a problem with what I just said?"

…

She tsks loudly.

"Am I seeing this right? Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. Sleeping while standing...No way, right? Not in a million years..." She mutters.

"Hey, I didn't sign up for this!" An arrogant voice broke from the audience. "We're experts who were summoned here because of our skills! We came all this way on your insistence. Absolute obedience? That's ridiculous!"

"She's right, you're way overstepping!" A self-absorbed voice chimed in. "Lineage is the most important asset for a mage! How can you brush it off?"

The Director quietly fumed, unmoving as the voices multiplied and grew, before erupting with a fierce stomp and yell.

"**QUIET! **_**NO **_**TALKING!**"

The sheer volume and sharpness of her cry stunned everyone back into silence while she composed herself with an even breath in and out.

"_That's_ why I say you're still acting like students!" She barked, which seemed like a deadly hush after her outburst. "I'm only telling you what's going on right now. If you don't like it, leave Chaldea _at once_!"

A lethal smirk grew across her face. "Not that there are any flights to send you home. Though if you're ready to trek down a snowy mountain 6,000 meters above sea level, that would be commendable." It stays on her faces while she scans the crowd, everyone cowed back into silence. "Very good! Nobody's dropped out." It quickly drops back into her harsh frown. "Seriously," She grumbles. "Don't make me waste my time on such matters."

She slowly steps forward. "I wish you'd realize that's how dire our, no, _humanity's_ situation is now. Look," She stops in front of Seika, pointing towards her. "She is a good example. No argument, no opinion. Good and _obedient_."

She heads back towards her place in front. "Now then, back to the topic. Are you listening? Today is…

* * *

"Do you remember now, Senpai?"

The Shielder's voice brings Seika blinking out of her reverie, Anthy mentally retreating from her thoughts. "...Mostly?"

'_I'm so sorry Master.'_

"Remembered..." Olga muttered, shaking her head. "You really weren't listening after all, were you? Honestly!" She steps forward to bear down Seika. "Sit yourself down. How could you come to a Singularity not knowing the situation or your mission? I'm going to have to explain it to you again. Listen up! We at Chaldea-"

"Master," Anthy tugged at the Director's shoulder. "I hate to interrupt you while you're on a roll here, but we might have uninvited company coming."

The others look around, not seeing any in sight, until Mash peers into the distance. "She's right." She turns toward the Caster, who hadn't even been looking in that direction. "How did you know?"

"Ah, right." Anthy rubs her hands together, grinning with clear excitement. "We never actually went over what I can actually do for y'all. Let's start with why I'm a Caster, since that'll answer your question."

She spread her hands out, after which a clump of energy materialized, forming into...a guitar. It had a sleek modern shape with a light-brown painted body and a black headstock and pickups, pearlescent inlays dotting a dark fretboard, and strings that seemed to faintly shimmer upon closer inspection.

"Hey Nightingale," She...cooed to it...lovingly? As it was cradled in her grasp. "Sorry it took me so long." She...kisses it, to the incredulous expression of the others around her.

"Uh, you two can get a room later." Seika quipped.

"O-oh, yeah," Anthy chuckles self-consciously. "Anyway, yes, I'm a guitarist and musician, the source of my power through legend, or something like that. Observe," She holds the guitar in her hands, somehow staying up without a strap, and strums a few chords experimentally. They somehow seem to project with a clean tone and resonate through them despite lacking any obvious amplification. Her faces contorts a bit, seemingly adjusting her sound a bit. "Hmm. Yeah that should do it."

"So...you weren't or aren't even a proper Mage..." Olga sighs.

Anthy winces. "Hey now, this stuff does work as its own kinda Magecraft, it's just a lil more unusual. Plus, the class container should be giving me a boost in picking that stuff up, so it's not like I'm totally clueless."

"Anyway," Mash adds. "I presume that you are alluding to having heard the approaching enemies because you are a musician."

"Right." The Caster nods. "Gotta develop good ears in my line of work, and for us Heroic Spirits that goes quite a ways longer than it usually does. It's otherwise pretty quiet out here, so they're not super hard to spot if I'm focusing on it."

"That makes sense. Servants, as high level familiars, do possess parameters much greater than any human, including their senses. It is only natural that yours would have that speciality given your nature." Olga observes. "Regardless, we can go over the details later. Caster!" She addresses Anthy with a particularly energetic tone, a confident smile on her face. "Prepare to engage enemy combatants. I require you to demonstrate your abilities as a Servant."

Anthy nods in acknowledgment. "Roger that, Master." She replies, her face now serious. "My speciality as a Caster is typically towards more supportive abilities, but I do possess some capacity for long-range fire support." She looks analytically towards where the skeletons are coming from. "Given my current capabilities, they're just outside of my maximum effective range. Might I suggest we move closer, Master?"

Olga seems particularly excited. "Of course. Mash, Fujimura! Stay back and guard our camp while we handle this. Better to have our bases covered in case of sudden change in circumstance."

"Hmm." Anthy brings her fist to her chin, thumb tucked under her jaw. "Master, if I may, it would be wiser for Shielder to follow up in close reserve. While I do possess personnel level combat capabilities, my optimal contributions are still ideally away from close engagement. And in the event anything threatens our camp, I am well within striking range, and should possess enough speed to quickly engage directly if necessary" She shrugs. "Not that I expect these bags of bones to be much of an issue, but it'd just be good practice." She smiles. "That sound good, Master?"

Olga blinks, seeming irritated at first, but quickly suppresses it. "...That does seem wise. Very observant, Caster."

Anthy shrugs. "My particular role means you have to think about the broad picture, y'know? Anyway, lets go."

As the group moves closer towards the distant figures of their opponents, a large bridge coming closer into view, Seika takes the silent opportunity to say something.

'_Anthy, these guys are pretty far away.'_

'_Yes. Servant senses are really something else aren't they.'_

'_Is there a particular reason you let us know this early?'_

'_I can tell you're implying something.'_

'_...Did you do this to give me a break from Olga's lecture?'_

'_I have only my Master's best interests in mind.'_

Before Seika could figure out a retort to that cryptic quip, they stopped. There did appear to be _quite_ a few skeletons marching towards them in one big group.

"Hmmm," Anthy mutters. "Didn't expect there to be this many from back there."

"Large number of hostile targets in sight, Master." Mash follows up. "Direct engagement would be unwise."

"You said it." Seika agreed. "Anthy?"

"_I'm_ the one giving her orders for now, remember?" Olga replied pointedly, then indicates towards Anthy. "Caster, reduce their numbers, quickly."

Anthy rolls her eyes slightly where Olga can't see while nodding. "Yes, Master."

Her feet spread apart in a ready, grounded stance while she readies her instrument, expression calm but focused. Suddenly, the sound of her guitar grows loud and electrified as she slides down the neck, culminating in her striking a loud, low powerchord that thunders from the instrument, the pickups in the body and inlays on the fretboard beginning to subtly glow with magical energy.

"Gah!" Olga yelps, everyone instinctively shielding their ears from the volume. "Did you have to do that?!"

"At this distance, yes." Anthy replies sheepishly. "Sorry for not giving you a headsup."

They blink, curiously realizing Anthy was perfectly audible at a normal speaking volume despite the fact she had continued playing, attacking the low strings with loud aggression. Which didn't seem to be hurting their ears at all despite the loud volume.

"Don't worry guys." She explains. "My music's only an earsore if I need it to be. Like for these guys!"

On cue, she turns her headstock towards the distant bunch of skeletons and executes a sharp chord, sending a crackling bolt of energy zapping towards them. It careens into one of them, exploding on impact and scattering dust and bone where it struck.

"Enemy down. Good work, Caster." Mash observes.

"Encore!" Seika claps.

"Thanks. Got plenty more where that came from for my adoring audience~" Anthy smirks, as she lets loose another projectile, finding its mark as the skeletons move faster. "Looks like they're hungry for more."

The guitarist continued her impromptu metal riffing, the bright vibrant energy of her playing striking down multiple creatures as they advance forwards undaunted, the dull thud of their footfalls growing more distinct but not necessarily louder.

"Approximately half a dozen enemies remaining, quickly moving into combat distance!" Mash calls, readying herself. "Master, your orders!"

"Right. Mash, keep them busy for Anthy!"

The Shielder charges forward, shield extended.

"Caster, you said you specialized in support? Assist Mash's engagement." Olga commands.

"Got it." Anthy nods, the volume and distortion of her sound decreasing as she begins to change approach, now picking and strumming elegant, jazzy chordal melodies. "This one goes out to you, Mash."

As she did so, Mash suddenly picked up in speed, slamming into one of the skeletons hard enough to split it apart on impact with a dull cracking sound.

"...Registering parameter increase!" She replies, smoothly retreating from the bunch of skeletons that tried to swing back. "Continuing engagement." She calmly reports as she dashes back into the fray.

"Fuck em up Mash." Anthy grins, her expression light and breezy playing intricate extended melodic lines, the piercing, singing tone cutting through the air occasionally interspersed with chordal stabs.

Mash charged in once more, swinging one end of her shield as a cross-club, bashing at one and delivering a clearing swing at the rest as she dives in to finish it with a kick bursting its midsection. A few of them, more by circumstance than cunning, end up trying to attack her from multiple directions, but her newfound speed is enough to foil them, weaving around their uncoordinated swings and getting in strikes of her own to knock them down.

"Mash, behind you!"

At Seika's call, she brings her shield around to bash another away that had crept up behind her. But unfortunately, she was narrowly too late to dodge another that had taken advantage of the opening, gritting her teeth as she felt its rusty blade scrape against the skin of her arm as she pulled back.

"Mash!" Seika and Olga cry simultaneously.

"Damage minimal." She reported, crushing the offending creature with her shield before going to deliver the coup de gras on the others. "Situation appears to be under control." She calls, raising her shield and crunching the bones of the skeletons underfoot. She shakes her hair out a bit as she releases a breath. "No more hostiles active." She smiles back towards the group. "We did it everyone."

"We had it in the bag." Anthy nods confidently, as her Masters ran towards the Shielder.

"Mash, are you okay?" Seika asks, the concern writ large on her face.

"This is what us Servants are built for," Anthy answers. "And don't let some idea about your looks fool her, Mash seems like a tough gal."

"I'm sure but...you're still pretty casual about this..."

Olga sighs. "This is why we have to keep an eye on our surroundings. Even if you have support, such as Caster or even Romani monitoring us, there's no telling what might happen, especially in a Singularity." She beckons towards Mash. "Come here, Kyrielight. You're hurt aren't you? I can heal something like that.

"Oh...Right." Mash blushes slightly. "Thank you very much, Director Olga Marie."

"No need, Master." Anthy interjects, delicately picking at notes forming gentle chords. "Already on it."

By the time Olga inspects Mash's arm, any wound has already been healed over.

"Caster," Olga sighs, a degree of exasperation obvious in her voice. "Please wait for my command next time. This was something I had well in hand."

"The way this operates, it was even less work for me than it would've been for you, in terms of conserving our resources." Anthy retorts pragmatically. "But you're right Master, I apologize."

The Director nods. "Good. I can overlook such a thing for now in light of both of your good work thus far. And now that that's over with," She turns to face Seika with an ominous smile. "I can pick up where I left off."

Oh no.

'_Oh yes.'_

"You mean there's more, Director?" Mash asks.

"Why, certainly! Fujimura!" Her serious frown returns in full force. "Don't _tell _me you forgot already. I was only halfway through. In fact, it's the latter half that's important!"

She stomps over to the young Master. "Make yourself remember!" She slowly claps her hands for emphasis. "Make...your...self...re...mem...ber!" The last was right in front of Seika's face, so it worked at least.

"O-oh, yeah, right..."

'_C'mon Master, look on the bright side. Learning is fun and good for you.'_

'_Guess I have no choice...'_

"Now, now, don't be like that." Romani chimed in over the broadcast. "Director's ramblings can be useful, Seika. Why were you Master candidates summoned to Chaldea? This will explain that."

'_I definitely wouldn't mind hearing this. Master?'_

'_Feel free, Anthy.'_

* * *

"Listen up." Olga continued. "Today of all days, we at Chaldea will achieve something that will be written into history. The science of learning. The invention of religion. The acquisition of navigation. The focus of communication. The voyage into space." Her hands raised with her cadence. "Our legacy will be on par with the 'Pioneers of the Stars'. No," Her hands close into fists. "It will _surpass_ them. Rather than expanding civilization," She opened her hands spreading them out before closing them towards herself. "We will be the hands of God protecting it. Stabilizing human history, we will transform the future into a solid resolution." She crossed her hands behind her back, standing upright. "The principles of mankind; in other words, to ensure the continuation of humanity." She gazed forward with a resolute fire in her eyes. "That is Chaldea's, and now _your_, only and_ absolute_ purpose."

She started pacing to the side. "Chaldea has achieved many results to date. The development of observation cyber daemon, Laplace. The Global Environment Model, Chaldeas. Completion of the Near Future Observation Lens, Shiva. The Heroic Spirit Summoning System, Fate, and the launch of the Spiritron Calculation Engine, Trismegistus. With these technologies, we at Chaldea have observed humanity's progress one hundred years into the future." She raised her finger for emphasis as she turned towards the other direction. "We do not predict the future, but observe it. Like many who observed celestial bodies, Chaldea has been observing the future. Whatever it sees, our job has been to ensure that humanity will survive 100 years into the future."

She turned to face the front, pointing behind her. "Look up. That is Chaldea's proudest achievement." She looked, indicating towards the giant blue, glowing sphere surrounded by concentric rings dominating the room. "Created with advanced magical theories, the Global Enviromental Model, our Chaldeas." She stepped slowly towards it. "Planets have been defined as beings with souls. We copied them into this miniature Earth. Because of the difference in scale, we are unable to read each single human mind. But whatever's on the surface, the city lights that can be seen on land, can be observed through Shiva. Currently, it's been set to reflect the Earth one hundred years from now. Chaldeas may very well be the future of Earth itself." She turned back to face everyone. "As long as the light of civilization shines within Chaldea, we can guarantee humans will exist a century further. As long as there's light, people will live in cities and serve as proof of civilizations survival. But-" She looked to the side. "Lev, could you normalize Shiva's polarization angle?"

After a moment, the glowing globe suddenly faded into a dull grey, its simulated Earth seeming empty and barren.

"This is the current state. Starting six months ago, Chaldeas changed colour, and it's become difficult to observe the future." Olga continued. "The light of civilization, our beacon till now, has become largely unobservable to us."

This warranted a swell of concerned mutters and unsettled expressions.

"Hmph," Olga nodded with a small smile. "The right response. Good to see you've got some sense. That's right." She looked serious again as she talked over the chatter. "The lack of light means that civilization has become extinct."

She let that sink in, the chatter slowly dying down. "This was considered highly classified, but you have the right to know. Our observations indicate that the light of humanity is only visible up to the year 2019. In other words, we've observed, no, _proved _that humanity will become extinct after that year."

She crossed her arms. "Obviously, this future is not possible. It cannot happen, and physically speaking, is impossible. There's neither an economic collapse nor some sudden seismic event. We can't explain how humanity would suddenly just disappear." She started pacing across the width of Chaldeas. "Over the past six months, we've found the cause of this strange phenomenon, the disappearance of the future. If the reason is not in the present, then it is in the past. Using Laplace and the Trismegistus, we've reviewed all data for the past 2000 years. We tried to find something that didn't exist in history or was on Earth until this point in time. As a result, we found something new." She stopped, pointing somewhere on the globe. "It's this."

The miniature Earth lit up once more, indicating and magnifying a small part of pseudo-Japan.

"Spatial Singularity F, a city in the Japanese countryside in 2004. We discovered an 'unobservable zone' that did not exist in history up to the year 2018. Chaldea hypothesizes that this is the cause of humanity's extinction. We proposed the Rayshift experiment to the U.N. and received approval."

She stepped forward. "The Rayshift process transforms a human into spiritrons, sending them into the past and allowing them to alter it. Simply put, it's time travel. But not everyone can do it. Only people with exceptional magical circuits, and the ability to become a Master, can be transformed."

"Now," She clapped her hands together, smiling confidently. "I'm sure that cleared things up. Your task is the investigation of Singularity F." She continued seriously. "You'll travel into the past, find Singularity F, and destroy it. We are now entering unknown territory. There's no telling what you might find there." Her hands went to her hips. "But you've been selected from among people all over the world. You can do this, and we have high expectations for you. The higher-ups want to know the cause of this immediately. We don't have time to waste. We'll be performing the first Rayshift experiment in an hour." She glanced over to where Seika is. "I'm sure you've all had enough training."

She indicated towards an eclectic row of Mages toward the front. "For the first experiment we'll send Team A, the top 8 scorers, to Singularity F. I haven't told the later groups, but they're Master candidates who have been chosen from Chaldea. Team A has been active for a month now. You can call them trained warriors. Team A will go on ahead and establish a base camp at Singularity F, guaranteeing your safety. Teams B and below will monitor their situation and prepare for the next experiment."

She nodded towards the casket like devices set in place around the room. "Let's register your information with the Klein Coffins, the arks that will send you to the past as spiritrons. There's one for each person, and there are no spares. Be very careful with them. Teams B through D will be on standby, in case of trouble with Team A."

Everyone assembled quickly shuffled off to their assigned task...except…

"What are you doing?" Olga barked. "I told you what you have to do." She strode forward. "You were brought here as a potential Master. You're practically a soldier now. You will obey orders and be ready for a fight. Do not make me repeat myself. Or do you have more questions? You, the one who was late!" She crossed her arms in front of Seika. "You look confused. I'll give you the chance to ask one question."

"...uh...so about the…time travel stuff...do we gotta be careful not to like...Butterfly effect stuff or..."

Olga breathed in deeply...and exhaled a sharp sigh of disappointment.

"Does the word 'Singularity' mean nothing to you?"

She shook her head. "The singularity we found doesn't exist in any of our observation records. It's like a hole that just appeared out of nowhere. The hole itself is cut off from the proper temporal axis. The 2004 singularity exists apart from the past and future. There's no need to connect it to our present. It's more stable than regular time travel, and whatever happens the timeline can still repair itself."

She held out part of her coat. "Singularity F is like a tiny stain on the dress that is human history. It ruins beauty just by its presence. Your job," She rubbed a spot on it. "Is to extract it. That's what will return humanity to its proper, observed course of history."

She brought up a hand to rub her forehead. "...What is the Association thinking," She grumbled to herself. "Sending me someone who doesn't know basic spacetime theory? I told them this plan was a Grand Order, the highest possible duty in the world of Magecraft...well, it doesn't matter." She held that hand out. "What team are you with? Show me your ID."

Seika limply patted over herself until she discovered something and handed it over. Olga scrutinized it intensely.

"What?" She looked up with a piercing gaze. "You're in the wrong spot! A civilian, and with no combat or training experience?"

She shoved the ID back into Seika's hands. "Chaldea is much too important to be wasting valuable slots on people like you!" She turned her head to the side. "Lev! Lev Lainur!"

"I'm right here, Director." The Mage in question arrived promptly, smiling as calmly as ever. "Why the yelling? Is there a problem?"

"There are problems everywhere!" Olga sighed in exasperation, pointing a finger right in Seika's face. "Just get this amateur out of my sight!"

"Oh..." He snorted. "So that's it? Director, she's a chosen Master candidate. Sure, they lack experience, but it's inappropriate to be that rude..."

"Having an inexperienced amateur here is a problem! What if something happens to my Chaldeas?" She threw her hands up as she stormed off. "Let Romani handle this! At least get some basic training in!"

"Hmm..." Lev shook his head, watching her leave. "I don't think she likes you." He shrugged nonchalantly. "All right, orders are orders. Mash," He beckoned over to them. "Show Seika to her room."

"All right, understood." Mash walked over, smiling sympathetically towards Seika. "I just need to take Senpai to her room, right?"

"Yes, thanks. I'm busy with the Rayshift experiment and can't." He reached over and pat Seika on the shoulder. "Don't worry. This experiment will be over in 2 hours. I'll drop by your room then."

Seika gave him a tentative thumbs up.

"No need to thank me." He chuckled. "You're really lucky, after all."

"Come this way." Mash hooked her arm against Seika's, gently leading her out. "I'll show you to your room."

* * *

"And that's how you were removed from the Command Room. Remember?"

'_Ahaha wow Master. I mean, no offence but no wonder she's pissed.'_

She did. She could also remember what she'd been dreaming about. It was some weird anime-y fantasy/sci-fi hybrid romp where Olga Marie was some weird ass-kicking badass with twin pistols and a sword...all in skimpy black clothes. She wore it well, Seika had to admit. It contrasted well with her white hair.

'_I can see how this would be distracting, to be fair.'_

'_Get out of my head and leave the weird jokes for later please.'_ Seika nods meekly. "...Yeah I got it."

"You little..." Olga tsks. "You look quiet, but you've got some nerve, don't you? Anyway!" She pokes Seika on the shoulder. "Do you finally remember how much of a mess you made at that critical moment?"

"Um, Director Marie?" Dr. Romani interjects. "I think that's going a little too far..."

"Like hell it is!" Olga scoffs. "Thanks to the time I wasted on your question I didn't have time to change!"

"Uh..." Mash looks confused. "You weren't planning to dive, so I'm not sure you needed your suit..."

"I did! I mostly certainly did! I had a special Mystic Code made for this mission." Olga pouts. "Jeez, I didn't even get to wear it once...well, it doesn't matter." She fixes a quiet, intense stare at Seika. "Anyway, you understand your responsibilities and duties as a Master candidate now, right?"

Seika nods vigorously, desperate to avoid a repeat.

"Very well, Fujimura. I'm ordering you to be my bodyguard. Work hard."

"Trust me," Seika salutes. "I won't ever let you down again, great Director Marie!"

"W-what?" Olga appears to be less than impressed by her attempt. "That's creepy. F-flattery will get you nowhere!"

Anthy is quietly smiling to herself next to the Director._'...I never thought I'd have to say this to a girl, but do you need advice talking to women, Master?'_

Seika sighs aloud. _'Please shut up, Anthy'_

"...Good to see you two getting along." Mash smiles. "Let's move before more enemies show up."

That they could all agree on.

They trudged forward, Mash taking point along with Anthy a little further back near Seika, Olga Marie keeping watch from the rear. After their noisy battle, the dull silence of the city felt all the heavy. Which is why, after a few minutes of walking, soon approaching the underpass of the giant bridge that connected across the river, Seika took the opportunity to address something.

"Hey, Anthy."

"What's up?" The Caster replied, eyes still casually gazing over the river.

"I was just wondering something...it's about your accent."

"Oh? What about it?" Her vowels had a soft, distinctly rounded quality to them that seemed to bleed over adjacent consonants, while simultaneously having an oddly chipper inflection.

"...You wouldn't happen to be from New Zealand, would you?"

The pleasant surprise on the Caster's face as she turned around, eyebrows raised confirmed she was on the mark.

"You'd be right there, good spotting. It's pretty distinctive, eh?" She said, leaning into it for emphasis. "'Course the issue is people remembering we exist in the first place, aha."

"Well, I've got a bit of help there." Seika shrugs. "My dad's side of the family is from there so..."

Anthy chuckles in delight. "Well shit," She grins broadly. "Good to know I gots another kiwi _iwi _around here."

Seika smiles back. "Same here. There are a fair few back in Japan but none I really got to spend time with myself." She giggles. "Hey, maybe this is why I summoned you."

The woman snorts. "That'd be one cosmic coincidence."

"You wouldn't be _completely_ off there, Fujimura." Olga chimes in. "In absence of a specific catalyst or preparation by the mage, familiars like Heroic Spirits tend to manifest based on the qualities or compatibility of their potential Master. A shared nationality, though tenuous, isn't necessarily an invalid connection, though that tends to apply to regions with more rich, famous folklore such as Europe or the Asian nations."

Mash nods. "That's right Senpai. When a summoning is performed, it's like a 'call to the soul'. If you have some sort of physical catalyst, that call is personalized to narrow things down. If not, then the call is not just to the listener, but between the speaker as well. You just brought up Samantha's accent, for instance. The makeup of your being, who you fundamentally are, is that 'accent' in this context, if that makes sense."

"It does, Mash...very well put." Olga concurs, something inscrutable in her expression before she regards Seika. "By the way, the type of being we call Servants...how much do you actually understand, Fujimura?"

"Well..."

"Just as I thought."

"Master," Anthy interjects. "Might as well go over the basics, since she seems to have been thrown into this stuff quite suddenly. I'm sure she's picked up a thing or three through observation and context, but an expert's explanation would be invaluable, no?"

"Very true, Caster." Olga grins, ego clearly boosted. "I suppose it can't be helped in her case." She turns back to Seika again.

"Think of a Servant as the highest-ranked familiar in the magical world."

'_You know what a familiar is, right Master?'_

'_Magical thing you summon to serve you, don't worry, I know my fantasy stuff.'_

"Various historical heroes. Noble acts. Concepts. They're all summoned as spiritual bodies. Whether or not a hero truly existed, he or she is still 'information that was produced on Earth', right?"

Seika nods. "Right. People making an impression."

"Something like that. To summon a Heroic Spirit is to convert the information stored in this planet into something for the good of mankind. People today have the right to use legacies of the past, and with that right, the duty to leave behind a future. Do you see? What you made your contract with is greater than a human, and yet is a tool to serve humans."

Olga snorts and smiles wrly. "Even if they're gods, they exist only to serve their Masters. That's why they're called Servants."

Anthy shrugs nonchalantly. "It's a living."

"Director." Mash interjects. "Your line of thinking may be...extreme." She looks at her with a more serious than usual gaze. "My cells are not agreeing with what you just said."

"Hmph." Olga shakes her hair back. "Meaning the Servant you fused with must be an Earth-type Heroic Spirit." She turns to Seika to continue.

"As you have probably gathered by now, Servants are heroes of the past made into familiars. Those who enter into a contract with them and use them are Masters. There are seven classes of Servants, which vary depending on a Servant's legends and abilities. The reason being it's incredibly difficult to copy a Heroic spirit entirely. Human mages simply do not have enough resources or memory to achieve such a feat normally. That's why only one aspect of a Heroic Spirit is fixed in our world, resulting in the seven classes."

"Saber, who wields the blade to achieve promised victory."

"Lancer, who wields a spear, be it cursed, holy, or simply emblematic of something great"

"Archer, who wields a bow to shoot their foes from afar, though despite the name other projectiles can make one qualify."

"Rider, who specializes in using an animal or vehicle of some variety to achieve superiority over their foes."

"Caster." Anthy gives a two-finger peace sign. "Who utilize Magecraft or whatever other form of mysticism their legend is associated with to find unique ways of achieving results."

"Berserker, who loses themselves to madness to tap into power. Arguably the most dangerous to both their master and their opponents."

"Assassin, who employ subtlety, stealth and trickery to elude their opponents and strike in ways ideal to them that may be considered unconventional or cowardly."

"Every Heroic Spirit will manifest as one of these classes. That's the true nature of Servants...and it's also a way to hide their True Names, as well. They hide their names because they are famous. Take Achilles from Greek Mythology. Achilles is an invincible Heroic Spirit, but his weakness is extremely famous, right? When a Heroic Spirit returns, their weakness returns with them. That's why Servants hide their names behind their true classes. If you don't know their identity, it's harder to figure out their past or weaknesses, right?"

She looks towards Anthy. "Mostly." The Caster raises her hands in a 'what can you do' shrug.

"That's not all. There's another reason for hiding one's True Name. A Servant has a secret weapon worthy of their legend. The crystallization of that Heroic Spirit's miracle and existence."

"Their Noble Phantasm, right?" Seika asks, just glad to get a chance to break this up a little.

"Indeed." Mash picks up the explanation. "It need not be a weapon or attack of some kind; think of it as an icon of who they are to the world through their legend. Take Achilles again. His fated invulnerability bar his heel would be considered a Noble Phantasm. It is a defining proof of what makes them a 'great individual' worthy of becoming a Heroic Spirit..." She looks down quietly.

"That's the sum of it, yeah." Anthy gently continues in the gap. "However, most of them really are trump cards. Once you play it, you can't un-play it. Everyone knows what you're packing, and thus who you are. It's not something you can just throw out there without caution. Not that mine's really that special I think," She shrugs self-deprecatingly. "But it's still probably overkill for these chumps we've been dealing with, so I can keep that up my sleeve for now."

"What is it?" Seika asks. The obvious guess was something related to her music, but even something that simple sounded intriguing.

Anthy chuckles. "Somebody's an eager one. All in due time, young padawan."

"As you might imagine, it can be something quite meaningful and personal, not merely a cheap trick to perform." Olga raises her voice once more. "Something that mostly comes from coming to trust and understand each other. On that note, as you grow as a Master, analysing and assessing your Servant's data becomes second nature. Their parameters, skills and matrixes. You might even be able to analyse Mash's Servant data at some point."

"Yes..." Mash sighs. "As of now, I am unable to truly wield my, or rather my fused spirit's, Noble Phantasm." She indicates her shield. "I can somehow use it as a weapon, but it's output is decreased, especially as I am unable to release its True Name. I don't even know what the origins of this weapon might be." She smiles determinedly at Seika. "In any case, you can think of me as a failed Servant, or capable kouhai that can get even stronger. I don't have any leads on the Heroic Spirit that fused with me, but with you as my Master, I will figure it out as I grow."

"Thank you, Mash." Seika smiles. "And I'm glad to have you as a Servant."

Mash blushes slightly, a cute sight with the contrast on her pale skin and lavender hair.

"I, for one, doubt that." Olga sighs. "While I concede that you have some potential as a Master, thanks to your summoning of Caster, you still can't use even Mash that well. Once we get Chaldea's Rayshift capability back online, we're going to shift a first-class Master here. Fujimura, please understand. Ideally, you were never intended to see the front-lines whatsoever. There is too much at stake to risk some rookie in the thick of things. In the end you are only our backup contingency that we've been forced to deploy for now."

In the face of the Director's harsh, blunt words, Seika...smiles back once more. She isn't sure how deliberate Olga is about it, but she understands what she means.

"Of course. I'm glad to have you as our Director, miss Animusphere."

Olga sputters, completely taken aback. "I-I...I'm glad you understand then."

Mash seems to want to say something, but Anthy stops her with a look, before sharing a knowing smile together.

Seika nods in tacit acknowledgment, before tapping her finger as she begins to realize something.

"Actually, I was just wondering something. Hold on a second everyone."

Everyone comes to a halt, looking towards her.

"Director, you said that Servants were 'heroes of the past', right?"

"Right."

"Because I just realized something. Anthy,"

"Yes, Seika?" The Caster replies, clearly curious.

"Do you remember when Olga said you looked like 'some non-Magus one could find casually walking the streets'?"

"Hah," Anthy snorts. "I mean, she wasn't wrong." She raises her eyebrows. "Also, that's one helluva memory you got there, Seika. Why do you ask anyway?" Her face after she says those words indicated the answer to that question was already occurring to her.

"Funny thing about that." Seika gives her a small, coy smile. "Given what else I just asked...well, there's something funny going on here, isn't there?

"You...you're right Senpai." Mash looks at her with starry eyes. "That's a very good observation. Servants, however idiosyncratically, outwardly reflect their place in legend and myth. While some may disguise themselves, their default state is often quite outlandish."

"Which begs the question," Olga narrows her eyes at Anthy. "Just what the hell is up with you, Caster?"

All eyes on her, Anthy gives a small clap. "Well holy shit, Seika. Your eyes are a wool-free zone, clearly." She smiles bashfully. "I wondered when this was gonna come up but I never expected now. But first, I gotta do the thing where I answer a question with a question; what date is it? I get the lowdown on the broad era and stuff but..."

"It's July 25th, 2018." Mash explains. "Incidentally, my birthday." She adds, sighing.

"I'll do my best to ensure something can be done to commemorate." Olga responds seriously, which earns a small smile from the Shielder.

"You better, or I'll reconsider stowing my choice words about you giving Seika's Master cred lip." Anthy quips.

"_What_ was that?"

"Annnyway," Seika decides to move things along. "How far in our past are you from, Anthy?"

"Well..." Anthy appears to be carefully considering her next words."Us Heroic spirits can recall our entire Earthly existence to some extent, but our memory is freshest of the prime years from which our forms are derived...and the clearest sense of my 'now' before it gets hazy is..."

"Roughly mid-to-late 2019?"

If it weren't for the fire you could already hear a pin drop in Singularity F, but the silence that followed her words was palpable.

"So..." Mash uttered.

"You're from the _future_?" Seika finishes.

"Pretty much."

"Wh-" Olga appears to be the most flummoxed by this revelation. "How is this possible? How can one crystallize a myth that _hasn't even finished happening_?"

"Bold of you to assume the Throne of Heroes plays by neat mortal concepts like 'space', 'time' or 'causality.'"

"Wait..." Olga appears to realize something. "Are you..."

"Counter Force? Something from Gaia's doing? Hmmm," She wiggles her hand in a non-committal gesture. "Yes and no. Without wanting to get into stuff way above Seika's paygrade, for now I'll just say I'm an...outlier."

"That's...SO COOL!" Seika beams.

Olga sighs, defeated.

"Can you tell me what happens in the future?" The young Master immediately follows up.

"Well, it'd probably be different to yours if my working theory about different worldlines happening is correct, besides it could've already changed just by being here so..."

"Darn, good point." She pouts. "Just for fun though," She looks up hopefully. "You...watch much anime?"

Anthy shrugs. "A little."

"Okay, good," Seika palms her hands together in front of her chest.

"Do you...know what Symphogear is?"

"Fujimura, I fail to see-"

Olga stops when she feels Mash pat her shoulder.

"Director..."

She bites her lip, and snorts.

Anthy grins. "Yes, I do know of Senki Zesshou Symphogear, the multiple season cool singing magical girls that punch shit anime produced by Satelight Studios starting in 2012." She pauses, fingers to her chin, smile knowing. "2011 if we're including the manga."

Seika pumps her fist. "_She's a fan._" She says to herself, _sotto voce_.

"You're goddamn right I am."

"Oh, right, forgot you could hear that...also uh..." She scratches her hair as she tries to phrase this delicately. "You spoke Japanese a while ago, how'd those two words throw you off? That pronunciation was...not great..."

Anthy winces. "Damn, that bad huh? Well, among the bunch of things we automatically know in order to function, the local language is one of them. Makes sense we gotta be able to talk to our Masters, y'know. And since it's your native language, I guess that's another for me. I never really picked it up in my actual lifetime, so that was me not cheating."

"Gotcha. Anyway, what I wanted to ask is," She brings her hands together pleadingly. "Do we get XV?"

"Ah." Anthy pats her shoulder reassuringly. "Yes we do."

"Is it…good?"

Her face was the picture of pure innocence and light. The simple, sincere hope of one looking for truth in this world.

Anthy takes a moment to breath in and out, returning her Master's plea with a pacate smile.

"No spoilers."

It is said that the anguished cry that followed could be heard for miles around.

* * *

**Was that a kinda goofy way to end the chapter, even for FGO? Yes.**

**Did we deserve it after nearly 8k words that ended up consisting mostly of exposition? Absolutely. You're welcome.**

**Anyway, I think I'm starting to hit my stride in how I wanna go about this. Yes, we ended up with multiple infodumps, but people familiar with the game will noticed I rolled together some exposition that was originally more spread out as a result of the games structure, as well as getting a few encounters worth of enemies in one go with that Samantha scene, which will hopefully move things along a bit quicker in future. I still have to get the hang of using that space for actual character dynamic but that'll happen as it happens.**

**I hope you enjoyed!**

**P.S. The chapter title comes from a Miles Davis tune of the same name. In fact, the title of this fic is an allusion to the jazz great's seminal album Kind of Blue. Naturally, you can expect me to make some musical references here and there, Jazz being a product of my degree.**

**P.P.S. Seika's dream about Olga was basically an excuse to shoutout to her VAs (Megumi Toyoguchi/Kira Buckland) with a combined Revy Black Lagoon/2B Nier Automata reference, who they respectively voice.**

**P.P.P.S I am absolutely not sorry for making Olga Marie do the clapping emoji meme**


	5. Fuyuki-Take Five

**In my mad scientist costume, I'll bring this fic back from the dead. Happy belated Halloween everyone!**

**Seriously tho, I'm actually back. I'm glad people have still been interested in this despite life happening at me fast! Well, most of that was getting deep into FFXIV (writing for that in future?...) about when the Pandemic hit and you know how it is.**

**Anyway! Thought I'd return with a bit of a shorter chapter both to shake off the rust, and test out how this works release/pacing wise. I'd previously done these in much bigger chunks because that's also how I like to read fics like these, but I'm willing to try this out on a more permanent basis if people prefer it. Let me know in the comments!**

* * *

As fun as that reprieve from the pressure of our current situation was, Olga seemed to have a different perspective, if her brusque resuming of our exploration towards the city and quiet grumbling was any indication. After a shrug, I was the first to follow suit. Given that I was 'her' Servant for now, I should probably be close and ready, for her peace of mind if nothing else. The two girls, glancing between each other bemusedly, stick together following a bit behind, enough that they were barely out of earshot. Well, not for yours truly of course, and even then, they weren't so far that it'd be difficult for a human (part of me still feels weird being able to say that with proper distance now) to keep an ear out. 'Master' seemed a little more pre-occupied with herself right now though.

"I'm a director, not a godsdamned _babysitter._" She groused, under her voice in a way confident no one could hear right now.

"In my experience, those two make a pretty good Venn diagram, bar the clientele." I disproved, as I strode alongside her. Perhaps a little rude to do that, but her reaction was cute enough to make it mostly worth it.

"Gah." After a visible mild jolt as I took her out of her thoughts, she steadied herself and pierced her gaze towards me. "I would _thank_ you to not do that in future, Caster."

"Sorry, Master," I shrug. "Lil force of habit, especially if I'm doing my job. Speaking of, no trouble coming in the near future at least."

She harrumphs. "At least you're competent."

While our exchange wasn't audible to the others, the Director's restless energy was plain to observe from a mile out, as they appeared to be discussing with Roman joining in from comms.

"I can feel the tension from across the screen…" Roman sighed. "The director is grumpy as usual."

"Is…she normally like this?" Seika responded with diplomatic hesitance. "I get that things are intense right now, but…"

I nod and give a small smile back. "I'm glad to hear that, Master. I'll do my best to keep it up."

The magus appeared to be slightly thrown by my earnest response to her obviously back-handed remark, but quickly covers it with a usual aloof smirk. "Well, at least I can be glad Fujimura _somehow_ showed compatibility with someone who has the right attitude. Obedience is a far too overlooked parameter in such a vital asset."

Well, she wasn't wrong I guess, charmingly as she put it to my face.

"Don't worry, Master. I know all about assets, vital or otherwise."

That quip came out just a little too quickly to properly prevent myself from snorting a bit. Which was likely why that drew a squint, then a sigh, then an expression reserved for minor headaches (an upgrade from her usual 'major', so that was a win in my book), from the lady Animusphere.

"Well, I can feel some sympathy for the Director's ill temper." Mash softly interjected.

"You and Fujimura deserve each other." Olga groaned.

"I'll be taking that as a compliment, by the way."

"And the director's pretty dependable when calm." Roman adds.

She snorts, amusement beginning to replace some of the exasperation. "Even to someone like her, your loyalty does you credit."

I shrug. "She's the one who summoned me, I kinda have a conflict of interest here." I frown slightly at her choice of words. "She's been doing alright so far, all things considered."

"Seika, you should know…she's in a complicated position as well."

"Perhaps so." She concedes, then puffs proudly. "Whatever potential she may have _will_ be brought to bear in _best_ possible use under my direction, assuming you and Kyrielight continue pulling your weight in an acceptable fashion."

"Initially, Marie was a Master candidate like you. Then the previous director of three years, her father, passed away. She was forced to take over Chaldea and leadership of the Animusphere family when she was still a student."

"Damn." Seika mused. "No wonder she seems tense."

Understatement of the year.

I chuckle. "Every band needs a good manager, after all."

"It was all she could do to keep Chaldea running." Roman continued. "And then around that time, Chaldeas developed an anomaly preventing us from seeing the promised future of 100 years. As you can imagine, this drew criticism from our sponsors and the Mages Association in London. She's been ordered to get the situation back to normal as soon as possible"

"I suppose that's one way to put it." She crosses her arms. "It may seem thankless now, but that will be a distant thing of the past once we see results."

"Especially since the latter makes up the majority of funding and even then, most of it comes from the Animusphere family itself, thus she receives scrutiny on two fronts." Mash adds. "Chaldea is a research institution, but due to its importance, it operates on a military level. There are extremely strict rules and punishments for everything; the Director is honestly quite reserved by comparison."

I give a lackadaisical salute. "Aye aye, great director Olga-Marie."

"Hmm." She narrows her eyes. "I expect to hear _far_ more enthusiasm behind such words in future. Lest you forget, I _am_ still the one in charge here, regardless of where your contract lies, and you answer to me as much as anyone else in this organization, and you_ will_ carry out our mission to fine success. Is that understood?"

There was enough unexpected steel in her retort to make me blink, nodding. "Crystal. I won't let you down. I promise." And then I heard Roman confirm the suspicion I'd had about her for a while.

"To make matters worse, they found she had no aptitude to be a Master. Her, the current head of the noble Animusphere family, one of the Twelve Lords, the dominating faculty of Astronomy at the Mage's Association. That's quite the scandal if it became common knowledge, and you can imagine the level of gossip happening behind the scenes. I'm sure she doesn't have to, unfortunately."

"Oh…" Seika responds, her voice making it clear she was beginning to put two and two together as well. A few too many things made sense now.

"You won't have a choice either way." The Director's smirk returns. "But it is appreciated regardless." She spares a glance behind her for the first time in a while. "What's keeping them so occupied?" I look back as well.

"She's worked herself so hard, I'd like her to come for counseling, but with how things are…" Roman sighs. "In any event, she's been emotionally stretched to the limit. She doesn't hate you or anything like that."

"Yeah, I figured." Seika contemplates. "She's bossy, but I can tell she isn't a bad person or anything."

"The Director isn't a villain, but she is evil." Mash opines. "She'll get rid of any staff member she doesn't like…well, I'm not sure if its okay to call someone who's got a bad attitude evil." She shakes her head, downcast. "Sorry, I wanted to give you some encouragement, but I'm not used to cheery words."

"It's okay Mash, we know what you mean. 'Necessary evil' in this kinda situation I suppose." Seika reassures her and draws a smile from me.

"Well?"

"Oh, sorry." I mumble, having been sharply interrupted from enjoying the moment. "Nothing much. Stuff about Chaldea since Seika's a newbie and all." It pained me to be dishonest here, but I think I knew enough about Olga-Marie to know a different tact was required here.

She shakes her head, muttering. "It_ still_ boggles the mind how she made it here."

"Exactly." Roman replies. "She isn't cruel, nefarious, and dishonest, that I can promise you. She's just a rather serious person. Anyhow, you're the only three I can trust right now. Please continue investigating without fighting when possible."

"Three?" I raise my eyebrow as I call back in their direction, each of them visibly startled. I probably should stop doing this at some point.

"I, uh." Roman stammers, clearly flustered by his faux pas. "That's-"

"It's okay dude, I know." I chuckle. "I'm basically the supporting act here, I'd be kinda moot if Seika wasn't in the equation to begin with."

"If you can trust me, you can trust Anthy. That's what you meant, right doctor?" Seika sticks up for Roman.

"Y-yeah, basically." The acting second-in-command is audibly relieved for the assist, regardless of whether it was the truth. "After all, you and Seika have had such an obvious chemistry so far, and it _is _true that she's the direct agent of Chaldea."

"And I'm the independent contractor, as it were." I snort to myself, enjoying my own jokes as the coolest people do.

"By the way," Mash interjects, taking the chance to change the subject. "Director. I have a question for you." She glances towards the city the group had make their way to the inner reaches of, fires still smoldering an oppressive pall over the atmosphere. "The Fuyuki in our date, and this Fuyuki are just too different. What happened in this city, exactly? What are your thoughts, Director?"

Olga-Marie furrows her brow in thought, also seeming glad for the shift in conversation. "The only reason that comes to mind is whatever caused the disruption of history in this Singularity. Mash, Seika, Caster." She addresses and regards them all sternly. "I'm only going to say this _once_. Chaldea observes the future through a theoretical model of the Earth called Chaldeas. At the same time, a familiar called Laplace compiles past records. You can say it is Laplace's job to gather data on history that wasn't made public, and information that was buried in darkness that no one knows."

"So, including all the Magical stuff." I cut to the point I guessed she was getting towards.

She wrinkles her brow in my direction slightly but continues onward. "Among others, yes. Including the fact that a particularly unusual Holy Grail War had been confirmed here in 2004."

Called it.

"Holy Grail War?" Mash's eyes widen. "You mean the Holy Grail of legend? The magical chalice that is the root of all magecraft, the one that is said to grant its holder's wishes?"

"The very same." Olga nods. "Mages in Fuyuki City competed for the Grail, and in order to activate it summoned seven Heroic Spirits to begin, unbeknownst to any common person."

"At first." I quip grimly, gazing around and hearing the dead air.

"The Fuyuki system is simple." Olga wisely ignores me. "Seven Masters fight each other. The last one standing gets the Grail."

"Aren't the Servants the ones who fight each other?" Seika asks sharply but innocently. "That's the point of them, right?"

Olga stares at her grimly, while Mash looks away awkwardly, so I have to take the initiative here unfortunately.

"True. But Servants need their Masters, specifically their Mana if you wanna get clinical, to do that in the first place. And one of those two groups aren't superhuman constructs of myth and Magecraft." I lay out as much as I need to. She's smart enough to pick up the rest, as she proves with a troubled expression growing across her face as Olga nods in something resembling appreciation before continuing.

"Chaldea learned about this in 2010. My father…I mean, the previous director used this data to build the summoning system, laying the basis of our third invention, Chaldea's Heroic Spirit Summoning System, Fate."

"Third? Isn't that the Near-Future Observation Lens, Shiva?" Mash questions.

"_That _was created by Professor Leff." Olga grins, regarding the curious mage from Seika's memories with obvious warmth. "Well, I guess you can say we both worked on it. Anyway," Her expression is business-like again in a heartbeat. "Such is the origin of the Servants. Seven fought here, and Saber claimed certain victory in the end."

"Without destroying the city?" Seika asks, already seeing the obvious endpoint.

"Exactly. We should assume that the outcome changed because of the Singularity. The anomaly in 2004 brought about an alteration to human history and as a result, we're no longer able to see 100 years into the future. Somewhere here is the reason history has been disturbed, and it's our job to repair this anomaly. Once we analyze and eliminate it," She smirks confidently. "Our mission _will _be complete and all of us will be able to return to the present." She made it sound so simple.

"Well, with all the kickass ladies here, that'll be no problem!" Seika agrees confidently. "It won't know what hit it."

I chuckle while Mash blushes cutely. Olga seems slightly flustered as she realizes she was included in that description. "Y-your morale is noted, Fujimura. Regardless, I assume you are all clear on your mission?"

The Shielder nods. "Although we're not sure what's going on, it's good that the mission is simple and within our parameters."

"I've helped handle worse, don't worry." I smile. "You're in good hands, Seika."

The orange-haired Master reaches up to high-five me. I swear, I could feel her spirit contagious through the touch. Mash returns the same gesture gingerly with a sweet smile.

Olga…is less receptive, but at least returns a nod of acknowledgement before moving on.

She likes us!

After a while, Olga is ahead of the group again, muttering to herself in thought as she ponders the situation.

"What could even turn Chaldea gray in the first place? If we can't see the future, that means humanity will vanish…Could that mean the Counter Force doesn't work in a Singularity? Then this place is like a Bolt. The fatal choice of destruction scattered throughout human history…"

"Looks like the Director is talking to herself again. This could take a while." Roman chimes in. "Hey, Seika, why don't you take the chance to rest a bit? It looks safe in that clearing over there." Oh yeah, rest. Humans needed that.

"I agree with you, Doctor." Mash nods. "Senpai, would you like some rations?"

"Oh yeah, jeez, I'm starving actually, good idea." I join the two over in the quiet spot nearby as Mash extracts the functional-looking, if unappetizing, foodstuffs from the supplies we'd been carrying.

"You're welcome." I lie upright against something still resembling a structure as I manifest my guitar Nightingale, plucking the strings idly for some (this time non-magical) light music to fill the air. "Fueling both of us has got to work up one hell of an appetite at least."

"I'll be fine, don't worry guys." The girl flashes a smile. "But what about you? Are you two holding up okay as my Servants or whatever? Especially you Mash, are you okay after…" (Hmm?)

"No complaints here." I give her a thumbsup, while still fingering a lick on the guitar with the fretting hand.

"Well, for the most part." Shielder smiles. "It's scary to fight, but I'm doing fine otherwise."

"I'm glad to hear that. You seem to be handling this whole thing really well, I'm proud of you!"

"Th-thank you Senpai." Mash flushes brightly. "I hope I can keep living up to your expectations, especially given how well you in turn are filling the role of Master."

"Really?" Seika, now her turn to flush shyly. "I've been kinda just winging it here and seeing what happens."

"Sometimes the magic happens when you improvise. As it were." I remark. "And hell, you're doing way better than I would have in your shoes at least. Me and Mash trust you already, and that right there is half of what makes a Master worth their summoning salt. Everything else is just developing an edge, and you're smart enough to do that if you have to." I really hope she wouldn't have to. A girl like this deserves to keep that innocence in her eyes.

"I see you're getting used to being a Servant." Olga arrives, addressing Mash with an approving smirk. "Is it because now that you know what we're up against, you're not afraid anymore?"

"I don't know about that." Mash replies hesitantly. "No matter how good I am with my weapon, when it comes to the battle itself…"

"Knowing you can swing a weapon is one thing. Being prepared to do so inside something, inside some_one_, is quite another." I add. "Good thing the only swing I need is on and over the beat."

"Sorry, let's talk later!" Roman suddenly interjects. "The three of you need to get out of there now, I'm picking up something!"

I swiftly rise to my feet and focus. Of course. I'd been complacent and assumed anything like those bags of bones would be announcing themselves a mile off, even through the noise around me. But in the sudden lull, I began to make out something different. The movement of something different. Someone able to properly control their movement at great speed.

"This is-"

Roman and my thoughts are interrupted as a figure becomes visible, landing on a nearby structure a few feet above us.

"Wha- is that…" Olga gasps in a nervous tone.

"One of the seven Servants, present and accounted for." I morosely surmised as I held Nightingale at the ready.

"Magical readings are consistent with a Heroic Spirit." Roman confirms. "But…"

I nod in Olga-Marie's direction. "Well, 'Master'?"

The head of the Animusphere family seems to hesitate, but then nods, schooling her features with practiced ease. "Indeed. Mash, Caster, prepare for battle!" She turns to regard Seika. "Fujimura. Now is the chance to truly prove yourself. Do_ not_ disappoint me." Her face is serious, yet her words almost resemble encouragement despite their harshness.

Seika, uncertainty mixed with a growing determination, meets her eye with a smile and gives a thumbs up. "Do your best to keep up." I had to snort to myself at the girl's fire, while Roman interjects.

"Isn't it too soon to be fighting a Servant?" He questions with obvious concern. "We have no idea what its capabilities-"

"We know they're fast enough to follow us easily." I cut him off.

"Exactly. Retreat is _not_ an option!" Olga declares.

"You got this, guys." Seika gives both me and Mash a reassuring nod, a special softness audible for the latter.

Mash, while obviously overwhelmed, seems to take heart from her words. "…Yes. I will do my best!" She manifests her shield, its weight hitting the ground with her determination. "Beginning engagement with enemy Servant. Your orders, Master!"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! I'm starting to get more confident in my 'localization' as it were, getting looser with the exact dialogue from the game and moving things around a bit to flow differently (most notably shifting a different dialogue track a whole scene forward for the beginning of this one). I hope this is a satisfying chapter break/cliffhanger! I'll try to keep y'all waiting a little less longer in future, aha!**


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